She noted that the health department is still working out the details of this potential recommendation.
Currently, all adults who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are eligible for a booster two months after receiving the initial shot.
However, as it stands now, it’s a little more complicated for adults who received Pfizer or Moderna’s vaccines. They are eligible six months after getting fully vaccinated, but only if they are 65 or older, or if they fall into certain other high-risk categories.
Meanwhile, as cases rise, Tucson’s hospitals are starting to see a build-up in patient loads.
“I’m worried about the hospital system,” Cullen said, noting that on Nov. 12 the county’s ICU bed availability was less than 5%.
A day earlier, on Nov. 11, hospitals across the state had 7% of their ICU beds available, according to ADHS data.
Banner Health, the state’s largest health care provider, is seeing its highest ICU usage in Tucson in eight months, with a significant jump over the last 48 hours, said spokeswoman Rebecca Ruiz Hudman.
Ventilator use is high, she said, and has been increasing since the beginning of November at the two hospitals here, Banner University Medical Center Tucson, 1625 N Campbell Ave., and Banner University Medical Center South, 2800 E Ajo Way.