/ Modified dec 11, 2020 4:02 p.m.

Navajo Nation prepares for vaccine deliveries

Officials are assuming the Pfizer vaccine will be approved this weekend, with shipments expected to arrive Monday.

Navajo COVID mural Mural on the side of building in Shiprock, New Mexico, in the Nation Nation March 22, 2020.
Emma Gibson/AZPM

The Navajo Nation is expecting 3,900 Pfizer vaccine doses to arrive Monday and Tuesday, and 7,800 Moderna vaccines are also expected within the next two weeks.

Dr. Loretta Christensen, Chief Medical Officer in the Navajo Nation, said in an online town hall those first in line are health care workers, Emergency Medical Services staff, traditional practitioners, and people living or working in long-term care facilities.

President Jonathan Nez said residents in all but one of the eight service areas across the reservation will be getting their vaccines through Indian Health Services. The service area in Utah will be provided by the state of Utah.

The Navajo Nation reported 347 new cases Wednesday — the third highest daily case count during the pandemic. Nez said he attributes the spike to Thanksgiving gatherings.

The Navajo Nation reported its highest daily case count, with 398 cases on Nov. 21. But since then numbers have generally been going down. As of Friday, it had reported 18,943 cases and 699 deaths throughout the pandemic.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona