PHOENIX β Arizona is expected to receive "thousands" of doses of vaccine for COVID-19 by the middle of the month, says Gov. Doug Ducey.
At a news conference Wednesday, Ducey laid out a distribution plan that gives first priority to health-care and other essential workers, residents of long-term care centers and other "vulnerable populations.''
He is specifically including teachers among the essential workers group.
That dovetails with his often-repeated argument that he wants more in-classroom teaching and less online education. The premise is that once teachers have immunity, they will be more willing to return to work.
And while the date for vaccines for all Arizonans has yet to be determined, Ducey issued an executive order spelling out that all residents will be able to get inoculated "without financial barriers.''
Wednesday's announcement comes as the state continues to set new records for infections. There are projections the state will run out of regular beds in intensive-care units by the end of the year and that the demand for those beds will hit 300% of capacity by mid-January.
Ducey, however, announced only one new restriction: some new health and safety requirements for large gatherings. Until now, the state had left the question about how those events could be held to local communities.
That decision for no new mitigation strategies puts the governor at odds with elements of the state's medical community.
The Arizona Medical Association pointed out Wednesday that other states facing the same rise in COVID-19 cases already are implementing new restrictions, including curfews and closing restaurants for indoor dining.
"Arizona is nearing this critical point,'' said association President Russ Goldberg in a prepared statement.
And Marjorie Bessel, chief clinical officer of Banner Health System, said as far as she's concerned that point is long past.
"What we do need is mitigation,'' the doctor said during an afternoon press briefing ahead of the governor's event. "A curfew is mitigation that absolutely can work. It can work and it will work if we deploy it.''
Bessel specifically praised Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and the City Council for voting Tuesday night to impose as 10 p.m. curfew that will run for three weeks.
None of this should be a surprise to Ducey. Bessel along with chief medical officers at Dignity Health and the Mayor Clinic sent a letter this week to Dr. Cara Christ, the state health director, specifically urging not just a 10 p.m. statewide curfew but also a total halt to indoor dining for the next 30 days, a ban on gatherings of more than 25 individuals, and a total halt to group athletic activities.
While Ducey is not following any of those requests, the governor did agree to provide an additional $60 million to Arizona hospitals to help them find the staff they need to handle the surge of people needing medical care. That is on top of a $25 million infusion less than a month ago.
