Feb 14 Vaccine Allocation
Earlier this week, State Farm Stadium hosted President Biden and Vice President Harris for a virtual tour of our vaccination site. Arizona’s state-operated vaccination sites have been identified as a national model. Since Jan. 11, the two state-operated sites have accounted for more than 20% […]
Arizona’s Process for Allocating Vaccine to Local Jurisdictions
This week, Arizona celebrated the milestone of more than 1 million doses of vaccine administered by the state, counties and health care providers. While this is a significant achievement, vaccination sites have capacity to vaccinate even more Arizonans if additional vaccine doses are made available by federal partners.
Since […]
New COVID-19 Data Dashboard Section Released: Vaccine Administration
On Monday I had the honor of taking President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on a virtual tour of our State Farm Stadium vaccination site in Glendale. During the tour, the vice president raised an issue that many people share. Here’s a lightly edited version of our exchange:
COVID-19 Vaccine Surveillance
Throughout the COVID-19 response, our goal has been to provide real-time data on all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including cases, hospitalizations, laboratory results, and vaccines. Ensuring rapid distribution of vaccine to high-risk groups is a critical component of public health during a pandemic response. Surveillance of vaccine administration […]
Safety Is an Important Part of Approving COVID-19 Vaccines
Last week, I had the privilege of being among a group of healthcare workers receiving some of the first COVID-19 vaccinations in Arizona. This was during an event held at ADHS.
I was inspired by the reasons these professionals gave for wanting to get vaccinated right away, whether it […]
Vaccine Prioritization in Arizona
On Friday, December 11, the FDA announced its approval of an emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met on Saturday, December 12, and recommended the vaccine for people age 16 and […]
Cara M. Christ, M.D., M.S. became Director for the Arizona Department of Health Services in May 2015. Dr. Christ has served the agency for more than nine years. Among her many accomplishments at ADHS, Dr. Christ collaborated with health partners and stakeholders to develop strategic plans for infectious disease prevention and control including the Governor’s Council on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response. She was involved in leading statewide efforts during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, and worked with partners to find solutions to improve childhood vaccination programs. In 2012, Dr. Christ managed the development and implementation of 20 Articles of Arizona Administrative Code for Health Care Institutions allowing integration of physical and behavioral health services statewide. Dr. Christ obtained her master's degree in microbiology with an emphasis in molecular virology and public health. She earned her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Follow the Director on Twitter @DrCaraChrist.
