Valley 101

In December 2020, the first Arizonan received their vaccine against COVID-19. Just nine months after virus took ahold of the state and the rest of the world, health care workers and first responders were able to usher in a new era during the pandemic: the vaccination era. For some it felt like much needed light after a long, dark tunnel. The vaccine roll out expanded first by phases of necessity then by age in Arizona. By April 2021, all adults in the state were eligible to get a dose.  In this week's episode of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, we map out the journey from the first shot to today. We spoke with reporters, doctors, and state health officials and track how 61.1% of Arizona residents became fully vaccinated against COVID-19.