The COVID-19 intensive care unit at Tucson Medical Center.

 Angela Pittenger / Tucson Medical Center

Arizonans in the highest priority category could get their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine in two weeks.

But it will be until summer or early fall before everyone who wants to get inoculated will be able to do so.

State Health Director Dr. Cara Christ on Friday laid out the preliminary schedule for vaccines to be delivered to health-care providers and others.

She figures the first doses could be administered as early as Dec. 15.

That first group will be limited to about 383,750 people. That is what Christ figures Arizona will get as its share of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines —assuming both are given final approval this month by the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use.

And within that group, health-care workers will be the first to be inoculated, particularly those who are working directly with patients. They will get about the first 184,000 doses, with another 70,000 for home health aides, nursing assistants and medical assistants.

After them, the vaccines will go to residents of skilled nursing facilities and independent and assisted living centers — about 122,000 people.

Christ said she is hoping for a second batch of vaccine about three to four weeks later, for second-priority people, including adults with high-risk medical conditions living in shelters or other congregate living settings.

Then there are  teachers, about 146,000 of them, along with police, corrections officers and other emergency response workers.

After that come workers for utility companies and then people in food industries including those at grocery stores and restaurants, transportation workers like those who drive trucks and buses as well as gas station employees.

Also in that second group are other "essential workers," which the state says include everything from financial services to funeral home employees.

The next priority would be nearly 2.3 million Arizonans with underlying medical conditions like obesity, heart diseases and chronic lung disease. Then there are more than 1.2 million Arizonans older than 65 who, assuming they haven't fallen into one of the higher priority groups, will be next in line.

That leaves everyone else as supplies become available — and as people choose to get vaccinated. Christ said that even with a public relations campaign aimed at those who appear most hesitant, she knows there will be those who refuse.

Also, there are groups for whom the vaccine is not yet recommended due to lack of testing on them, including children and pregnant women.

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