It has been a race against time to get Arizonans vaccinated since December, a quest that is mirrored in every state across the U.S.
Nearly 11% of Americans have received their initial dose, but who is rapidly outpacing that stat?
The answer may surprise you.
Our Data Guru, Garrett Archer, tells me, it is Alaska!
"Alaska has about 15% of their population, who have received at least one dose. And 5.7% of their population is fully vaccinated. That is higher than all the other states by a pretty large amount," he says.
Although the population in Alaska is limited, the terrain and temperature there make this a feat.
"Obviously, there are so many logistics, just getting the vaccines in and out of Alaska, and you also have many tribal areas that go through a different logistical pipeline. The fact that Alaska has these numbers is impressive," admires Archer.
So, who rounds out the Top Five?
According to the CDC: it is West Virginia, New Mexico, Connecticut, and North Dakota.
Arizona lands solidly in the middle of all states for that statistic.
Arguably, the most important number is how fast states can move doses, from freezer to arm!
And, Arizona's neighbor to the north takes that top spot.
"Utah has a very impressive number. 96% of the doses that have been distributed to Utah have been administered at this point", Archer goes on to say, "Arizona is a little on the lower end of the middle pack as far as doses that have been utilized. We are about 68%."
He says, "That ranks us 30 out of 50 states plus D.C."
With millions of Arizonans left to vaccinate, should we look to other states to ensure you get your dose faster? Archer agrees, it seems a question, worth asking.
"What is it that's going on there? What should they look at, at other states around them to increase those numbers?" he poses.
