As Pima County Health Department coordinates vaccine distribution, the UArizona vaccine “Point of Distribution” is delivering vaccinations to educators as part of Phase 1B.1 and all UArizona employees and affiliates are eligible.
University of Arizona faculty and staff are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as part of the Phase 1B.1 rollout in Pima County. Those eligible can register through the Pima County Health Department (PCHD) using the Pima County Educators link.
The University is providing the vaccine to educators in Phase 1B.1 at the two UArizona vaccine Point of Distribution (POD) sites. Updated information about registration and appointments for the UArizona POD can be found here. Anyone eligible who signed up through the PCHD portal should receive an email to set up a MyChart account and schedule an appointment for the vaccination. The second appointment should be scheduled through MyChart after your first vaccination.
Read the February 1 update from President Robbins and UA News.
Read the February 8 update from President Robbins and UA News.
Faculty from the Zuckerman College of Public Health (COPH) at the University of Arizona have been working closely with PCHD to support vaccine distribution in the region and from the UArizona POD site. In constant coordination with PCHD, COPH researcher Mona Arora, PhD, leads the UArizona COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force. Kristen Pogreba-Brown, PhD, MPH, coordinates the student workers as well as the student and staff volunteers to support the vaccination effort on campus.
Public health legal expert Leila Barraza, JD, MPH, serves on the PCHD ethics committee for vaccine distribution helping to make the difficult decisions about which occupations and age ranges are included in the different phases of distribution. Even as COVID-19 cases in Arizona have climbed to alarming levels, several COPH faculty continue to serve on the Public Health Advisory CoVID Team (PHACT) to guide UArizona leadership on pandemic response and vaccine distribution strategies.
Who Is Eligible for Phase 1B Vaccinations?
Phase 1B.1 of the county's immunization plan includes:
- People aged 70 years and older are now eligible due to the high risk of hospitalization, illness, and death from COVID‐19.
- Protective service occupations (law enforcement, corrections, firefighters, and other emergency response staff, 911 call center staff and trainees in high-risk settings)
- Education and child care providers (K12 and higher education teachers and staff, student teachers)
Pima County Health Department has decided to include people aged 65 years and older in a later stage of of Phase 1B (Phase 1B.2). However, ages 65-69 are able to receive a vaccination from the state in Maricopa County now, follow the info provided here https://podvaccine.azdhs.gov/.
UArizona Employees in Phoenix
UArizona Phoenix Campus employees who are eligible under Phase 1.B1 are invited to be vaccinated at the Tucson POD using the PCHD Educators link. Eligible employees should be be willing to drive to the same Tucson POD site for both vaccinations. Sign up at the Banner/Kino site using the address: Provost’s Office, 411 Administration Building, Tucson, AZ 85721.
5 Steps for Vaccination
- Make an appointment online or over the phone. When you register online, you will fill out a survey that includes your contact information and you will see a message saying you will be contacted soon.
- Bring your health insurance card and proof of employment, such as an employee ID or pay stub. When you reach the University of Arizona Mall, you will be given instructions on where to park.
- Keep your mask on and roll up your sleeve to receive your vaccination from a health care professional.
- Wait about 15 minutes so that health care staff can monitor for any adverse reactions to the vaccine.
- Take home post-vaccination information, including details about your second dose appointment. It is important that the same product be used for both doses. The Pfizer vaccine will be used at the University of Arizona site.
Pima County Distribution Information
The PCHD Phase 1B vaccination distribution is underway, and with the University of Arizona as a designated Point of Distribution for the Phase 1B priority subpopulation of teachers and child care workers, including K-12 and higher education teachers and staff, as well as student teachers.
There will be several other Points of Distribution for the vaccine that target different subpopulations located around the Tucson region. In order to vaccinate the population as quickly as possible, each vaccination POD site in the county will prioritize a specific population within the Phase 1B.1 group. While anyone from any group is welcome at any site, K-12 and higher education employees and child care workers are the priority for the University of Arizona POD.
All vaccine distribution guidance can be found on the PCHD website pima.gov/covid19vaccine.
Pima County also has an extensive webpage with Frequently Asked Questions.
University of Arizona Vaccine Distribution Information for Faculty and Staff
Both a drive-through clinic and a walk-through clinic have begun operation as part of the UArizona Point of Distribution vaccination site. The UArizona POD will focus on educators and school staff, including child care workers, K-12 school employees, and higher education employees (including all UArizona employees). Vaccinations at the UArizona POD clinics began on Wednesday, January 20 and will ramp up to deliver more vaccine doses in the weeks ahead. You must register and make an appointment to receive a vaccination.
Faculty, staff, campus affiliates and associates, graduate assistants and associates, and student workers with the University of Arizona, are eligible to enroll in Phase 1B to be vaccinated. A link to register can be found on the Pima County Health Department vaccination website under the heading College and University Educators and Staff. You will subsequently be contacted by Pima County and provided options to make an appointment. All registrations will use the MyChart platform deployed by PCHD to track vaccinations. To be clear, the University of Arizona will not be scheduling vaccination appointments – all appointments will be scheduled through PCHD.
If there are no vaccination slots available, UArizona employees and affiliates are still able to register through the PCHD website. Once registered, PCHD will send a follow-up email with a link to the MyChart platform when vaccination slots become available so that users can make an appointment.
Register and Make An Appointment
Volunteers Needed for Vaccine Distribution at UArizona
We need a small army of volunteers for the UArizona POD! All students, staff, faculty, and community members welcome. Go to our volunteer page for more information.
Dr. Kristen Pogreba-Brown organized the campaign to recruit and schedule all the volunteers (more than 100 per day) for the UArizona POD sites. Currently the recruitment campaign has successfully signed up over 2000 volunteers and counting. Thank you Kristen!
