CNN
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Concerned that not enough people are signing up to be vaccinated against Covid-19, officials in a small Arizona county have revised the vaccine eligibility requirements to encourage more people to book an appointment. changed.

Vaccination is now available to anyone over the age of 18 in Gila County, Arizona (90 minutes east of Phoenix).

“We’ve been having trouble finding people over the age of 65 to sign up for the vaccine,” Michael O’Driscoll, Gila’s director of health and emergency management, told CNN.

As a result, O’Driscoll said in February he called on states to open up the vaccine to the general public. The state officially approved his request on February 17th.

Saturation of the primary vaccine among eligible persons has been so successful that, as of Thursday, those working in Gila have also become eligible.

Gila, a county of 54,000, is in Phase 2 of vaccination as of the end of February, O’Driscoll said.

Officials attribute the county’s vaccine success to an aggressive communication campaign to ensure that anyone eligible for the vaccine knows they are eligible.

“What we did was set up a pandemic exactly like we do during fire season,” O’Driscoll said. “We set up an Incident Command very similar to that.”

O’Driscoll said the incident command structure sets up a community-wide response to help people from different sectors and communities get vaccines to the population.

The county turned to medical institutions, hospitals and doctors for help. O’Driscoll said:

As of Thursday, Guila had 3,885 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 154 confirmed deaths. facebook page.

O’Driscoll said the state and county had seen a significant drop in cases, adding that vaccination efforts would change life in Gila for the better.

“Today we have only two positive cases. About a month ago we were up to 60 a day,” he said.

Rhonda Mason, chief nursing officer at Cobre Regional Medical Center, said residents, especially among younger people, are still hesitant to get vaccinated.

It “will challenge us to achieve herd immunity,” she said.

Some who have been vaccinated say they appreciate the county’s efforts.

Kevin Kane, 24, told CNN: “When this is over, I feel like I can move on with my life.”

Paul Miller, who lives in Tucson but works in Gila, told CNN he’s happy to be eligible for the vaccine in the county.

He is no longer able to visit his parents with his two-year-old daughter.

“I’m one step closer to meeting them.”