Maricopa County begins providing vaccinations to inmates
PHOENIX - Arizona's most populous county on March 18 began providing COVID-19 vaccinations to willing jail inmates who are 55 or over, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office announced.
The county Correctional Health Services Department received 400 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine from the county Public Health Department earlier this week for administration to inmates, the Sheriff's Office said.
The county's five jails have 318 inmates who are 55 or older, the office said.
MORE: Maricopa County COVID-19 vaccine status updates
In other developments, the state on Thursday announced the availability of 5,000 COVID-19 vaccination appointments at two large state-run sites in metro Phoenix and reported 284 additional confirmed cases and 59 more deaths.
Cancellations made the vaccination appointments for people 55 and older available for
Thursday was the sixth consecutive day that the state reported fewer than 1,000 cases. Arizona's pandemic totals now stand at 834,607 cases and 16,645 deaths, according to the state's coronavirus dashboard.
MORE: How to sign up and schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment
The number of COVID-19 patients occupying inpatient beds continued to drop, with 743 occupying the beds as of Wednesday, down from the Jan. 11 pandemic high of 5,082.
The state's seven-day rolling average of daily new cases declined from 1,141 on March 2 to 813 on Tuesday while the seven-day rolling average of daily deaths dropped from 66 to 26 during the same period, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported because many people have not been tested. Studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
Continuing coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Coconino County now giving COVID-19 vaccines to jail inmates
- Agency starts offering COVID-19 vaccine to corrections officers
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