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By Alison Steinbach and Stephanie Innes | Arizona Republic
Arizona officials have refiled their federal request for additional COVID-19 vaccine doses after their initial application was denied last month.
The state wants an immediate 300,000 extra doses and an additional 300,000 doses more than Arizona’s normal allotment each week moving forward.
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The bureaucratic journey through federal government departments to get more doses has so far been unsuccessful.
A request was submitted in mid-January to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It was denied in a matter of two days because FEMA said they were the wrong agency to ask, even though FEMA officials had prompted the state to apply, said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services.
FEMA twice denied Arizona’s vaccine requests “because FEMA does not oversee vaccine supply,” said spokesperson Brandi Richard Thompson. “FEMA can and does support Arizona with funding, personnel and supplies. FEMA is not however, the right agency for vaccine.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also denied the request in its ordering system, Christ said.
