See Your Estimated COVID-19 Vaccine Wait Time In Maricopa County

PHOENIX — With Arizona set to receive the coronavirus vaccine as early as Dec. 15, the New York Times, the Surgo Foundation and Ariadne Labs have developed a tool to calculate the number of people who will need a vaccine in each state and county — and where Maricopa County residents might fit in that line.

For example, an average 40-year-old Maricopa County resident with no professional or health-related special circumstances would be in line behind 268.7 million people across the United States, according to the study.

In Arizona, the projection would be behind 5.8 million others who are at higher risk, in a state with a population of over 7.4 million. In Maricopa County, 3.6 million would be ahead of you in a county with over 4.5 million residents.

But those caveats make a difference.

The same person with higher risk health conditions would be behind 496,900 people in the state and 334,000 in the county. A healthy first responder would be in line behind 450,100 people in Arizona and just 304,100 in Maricopa County.

Arizona has been making plans to distribute vaccines for months. At a recent news conference, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced that the vaccines will be free for everyone in the state.

Ducey said he asked Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ and her vaccination task force to prioritize teachers in the first wave of distribution, alongside frontline workers and the most vulnerable populations. The Arizona National Guard is prepared to help with distribution to the state's rural areas and Native American reservations.

Arizona has seen record-breaking daily reports of coronavirus infections and deaths in recent weeks, with ICU beds at 92 percent capacity as of Monday.