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News

Despite grim milestones, experts say state has turned corner on COVID-19
Posted: Feb 26 2021

By Jacob Holter | Cronkite News | Feb 25, 2021

WASHINGTON – Health officials confirmed COVID-19 in another 1,310 Arizonans Wednesday and reported that 43 more people died from the disease, according to the latest numbers from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Depressing numbers – but a vast improvement from just six weeks ago, when the daily average of new cases in one week was 9,742 people and deaths were averaging 154 a day. And an indication, experts said, that the state may have finally turned a corner.

“I think we’ve definitely seen the worst of this pandemic,” said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association. “I think the worst of the worst will end up being that first two weeks of January.”

It comes as the national death toll topped 500,000 and the number of Americans infected with the disease passed 28 million. But it also comes as hospitalization rates have plummeted and vaccination efforts have started to take hold, with 65 million doses administered nationwide and almost 1.6 million in Arizona.

Dan Derksen“We are getting much better at getting the COVID-19 vaccinations in people’s arms,” said Dr. Daniel Derksen, director of the Arizona Center for Rural Health. “We have certainly seen that in the large-population counties like Maricopa and Pima, who have been particularly effective in these things like State Farm Arena.”

Both Humble and Derksen said that, with vaccination efforts continuing to rise, they do not expect to see spikes again like the one the state saw in January. Humble blamed that surge on holiday parties and family gatherings that spread the virus, which showed up in new cases in early January.

Since the first of the year, cases in Arizona have risen from 520,196 to 808,895 and deaths have skyrocketed, from 8,864 to 15,693. Just over 60% of intensive-care unit beds in the state were occupied by COVID-19 patients, a number that would rise to 66% less than two weeks later.

But all the numbers have pointed down since then. Just 25% of ICU beds are now occupied by COVID-19 patients, the lowest percentage since mid-November, while deaths and new cases continue to drop.

There are still challenges ahead. A vaccination site at Chandler-Gilbert Community College will close for four days next week as it shifts from county to state management. And new coronavirus variants continue to pop up, presenting a new type of threat.

Winter storms that wreaked havoc in the South delayed delivery of some vaccines, Derksen said, with multiple county health departments telling the state health department they had to cancel appointments as a result. Coconino County said in a statement last week, for example, that “some vaccination sites must cancel and reschedule first dose appointments scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 18, and Friday, Feb 19.”

But Derksen said Arizona appears to be back on track.

More than 1.1 million Arizonans – 15.5% of the state’s population – have received at least one dose of vaccine so far, and 438,534 have received both doses to be fully immunized. The Chandler-Gilbert Community College site will be the fourth mass vaccination site when it reopens next week, and a new one-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson appears to be on the verge of approval.

Humble worries that the state may be rushing to open the pool of vaccine-eligible Arizonans too quickly to younger people, in a push to vaccinate essential workers.

“If you throw essential workers into the pot at this point, you dilute our ability to protect seniors, and they are the ones that are at the highest risk of having a bad outcome, filling our hospitals, and dying,” Humble said.

Despite their optimism, both Derksen and Humble stressed that this is not the time to let our guard down. They repeated the health care workers now-common refrain, urging people to continue social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands and staying home when sick.

“As we get more vaccinations done, and as people continue to take care of themselves by wearing masks, social distancing, and the other things that we have been trying to do for some time, we need to continue those because we are still in the first phase of immunizations and we really need to get those vaccinations to the general public,” said Derksen.

He is confident that if the state can keep up the pace of vaccinations, it will be in good shape. And once a majority of Arizonans are vaccinated, the population will be better protected against variants that may present themselves in the future.

But they caution that it will not happen overnight.

“I think we can really reduce the impact of this and get back to the new normal as they have been calling it,” Derksen said. “We are all eager for that to happen, but we still have a few months to go before we can get close to that.”

» Video and more at link below:

 

 
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AZ 360 Video: COVID-19 Vaccine, How the Vaccine is Being Distributed in Rural Communities
Posted: Feb 20 2021

Watch the Arizona Public Media video:

Tony Paniagua: “COVID-19 Vaccine, How the Vaccine is Being Distributed in Rural Communities.” 

Arizona 360 PBS 6 Tucson, PBS World Channel 8.3. 

Dan Derksen, AZ 360» Dan Derksen discusses distribution in rural areas starting at 19min:42sec.  

 
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Experts: New enrollment for Obamacare could be ‘really good’ for state
Posted: Feb 16 2021

By Sarah Oven | Cronkite News | February 15, 2021 

WASHINGTON – Health advocates welcomed Monday’s reopening of enrollment for Affordable Care Act coverage, saying the opportunity for more people to get or renew their health insurance could be “really good for Arizona.”

The normal period for Americans to sign up for coverage ended Dec. 15, but President Joe Biden called for this special 90-day open enrollment period in response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

The change could open the door to subsidized health insurance for thousands in Arizona, where as many as 900,000 people may not have health insurance, according to Dr. Dan Derksen, director of the University of Arizona Center for Rural Health. Derksen said as many as half of those people could get covered under the ACA.

“This extension of the open enrollment period Is a way that we can get more information out there so that people understand what they might be eligible for, and then get enrolled,” Derksen said Monday, the first day of open enrollment.

Matt Eyles, president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, praised the decision to reopen the enrollment period as a “timely and targeted” solution that is “exactly what Americans need.”

“Every American deserves access to affordable health coverage and high-quality care, and that is especially true during a pandemic,” Eyles said. “We appreciate the Biden administration for providing this additional opportunity for hardworking American families to enroll in coverage for their health and financial security as they continue to fight to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.”

The move also allows for further gains in enrollment under the ACA – also known as Obamacare – after years of steady declines under the Trump administration. Enrollment fell from 9.6 million nationwide in 2017 to 8.2 million in the open enrollment that ended in December. In Arizona, the numbers fell from 203,066 to 154,504 over the same period.

Advocates said the declines, which leveled off last year, were due to an “erosion” of support under President Donald Trump, including fewer staff to help people navigate the marketplace, shorter enrollment periods and a decrease in outreach resources.

The special open enrollment period, which is open until May 15, is the second move in two weeks by the Biden administration to reverse Trump administration policy in regard to the ACA.

The Supreme Court in November heard arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of the ACA, and the Trump administration had sided in that case with opponents of the law. But the deputy solicitor general wrote the court on Wednesday to say the Biden administration “has reconsidered the government’s position” and now argues that the law is constitutional and should stand, even if the court finds part of it is flawed.

The reversals are not surprising, said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, who called the Trump administration a “little hostile” to the ACA.

“I think we have people who are making decisions to use the funds that they currently have and ways to actually try to motivate and engage people in the marketplace, which was not the case under the Trump administration,” Humble said. 

That was echoed by Derksen, who said that most people “realize that with the change in leadership at the national level there would be a renewed interest in the Affordable Care Act coverage availability.”

Health insurance in the ACA marketplace is open to anyone, but the plans are designed to provide low-cost or no-cost coverage based on patients’ income.

Advocates said many will find they can get coverage through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which in Arizona go by the names Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and Kids Care, respectively. People who exceed the income limits for those programs may still be eligible for tax rebates to make the coverage affordable.

Interested people should go to Healthcare.gov for more information about their eligibility for coverage. In Arizona, a good place to start is CoverAZ.org, where people can get free advising on their eligibility and the best plan for them, said Marcus Johnson, director of state health policy and advocacy at Vitalyst Health Foundation.

“If you don’t have health insurance right now, if you recently lost your job during the pandemic or if you’ve never had health insurance, this is a great opportunity for people to shop for quality and affordable health insurance coverage,” Johnson said.

He said it is important to realize that whatever the Supreme Court rules in the ACA case, it will have “no bearing on this current open enrollment opportunity.”

“Now is the time to jump on board and see what you qualify for if you don’t have health insurance coverage,” Johnson said Monday.

» View complete article with graphs at link/PDF below:

 
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Emergency Special Enrollment Period for the Federally-facilitated Marketplace
Posted: Feb 12 2021

Today, in accordance with the Executive Order signed by President Biden, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing that the Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for the Health Insurance Marketplace® will officially be available to consumers in the 36 states that use the HealthCare.gov platform on Monday, February 15, and will continue through Saturday, May 15. At least 13 States plus the District of Columbia, which operate their own Marketplace platforms, have decided to offer a similar opportunity.

"President Biden was clear: we need to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and give more Americans access to health care, especially during this pandemic, which has further demonstrated the importance of having the right coverage. This Special Enrollment Period will give Americans who need affordable, quality health insurance an opportunity to get covered, and we encourage folks to head to HealthCare.gov starting on Monday to explore their options," said HHS Acting Secretary Norris Cochran.

For one-on-one virtual assistance, visit: http://coveraz.org/connector

 
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Governor Ducey Announces The University Of Arizona To Be First State Vaccination Site In Southern Arizona
Posted: Feb 10 2021

PHOENIX ‒ Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona Department of Health Services today announced a partnership with the University of Arizona and the Pima County Health Department to operate a state vaccination site on the university’s mall area on central Tucson campus.

“Our state vaccination sites at State Farm Stadium and Phoenix Municipal Stadium have been instrumental in Arizona’s work to vaccinate people quickly, efficiently and safely,” said Governor Ducey. “We’re thrilled to partner with the University of Arizona and the Pima County Health Department to open a site in Southern Arizona and rapidly expand vaccine distribution. The demand for vaccine doses is high, and Arizonans have made it clear they want it. We are working hard to secure more doses from the federal government and partner with private and public organizations to get the vaccine out and protect Arizonans. My thanks to President Bobby Robbins and everyone involved for their work to partner on this vaccination site.”

The state vaccination site will expand the current capacity and hours of operation at the existing university site, which has a proven record of success in vaccinating students, faculty and staff. The transition to a state site will add more appointments that will begin on Feb. 18. Registration for these appointments will open at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, at podvaccine.azdhs.gov. Those without computer access or needing extra help registering can call 1-844-542-8201 for assistance. The partnership will also allow for expanded hours of operation, eventually operating 24/7 as more vaccine doses arrive in Arizona. At full capacity, the site can serve up to 6,000 people per day. 

“Serving as a COVID-19 vaccine point of distribution (POD) and delivering more than 12,000 shots to local county members from first responders, K-12 and post K-12 educators and staff over the past two weeks has been a privilege for the University of Arizona, and we welcome the opportunity to provide the same service to Southern Arizona as a 24/7 vaccination site for the state,” said University of Arizona President Dr. Bobby Robbins. “Our POD has the capacity to deliver more vaccinations, and we look forward to working together to further meet the needs of Pima County and Arizonans. I am incredibly proud of our entire team of professionals and volunteers who have partnered closely with Pima County, established the university POD, and operated it so well.”

Today’s announcement of the vaccination site at the University of Arizona comes as the university and the state are experiencing a drop in COVID-19 cases. 

“Demand for the vaccine remains high, and the state’s third vaccination site and first in Southern Arizona will help meet that demand,” said Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ. “We’ll have the ability to vaccinate more people each day at this site once we have more vaccine doses, and we are working with our federal partners to secure more supplies and rapidly expand vaccinations. We are looking forward to working with the University of Arizona and Pima County to get this site running and protect more Arizonans.”

The vaccination site at the University of Arizona will be the third state site, and the first in Pima County. On Jan. 11, Arizona opened its first state-run site at State Farm Stadium, where 178,084 vaccine doses have been administered. On Feb. 1, the state opened its vaccination site at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, where 14,946 vaccine doses have been administered. As of Tuesday, 954,290 vaccine doses have been administered across the state. 

Information about all vaccination sites across Arizona can be found at azhealth.gov/findvaccine. Note: You can use the patient portal at podvaccine.azdhs.gov to make an appointment for a relative in a prioritized group.

 
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Arizona Faith Leaders Urge Arizonans To Get The COVID-19 Vaccine
Posted: Feb 8 2021

PHOENIX — Arizona faith leaders gathered today to share a strong message with their congregations and the public: the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective, and getting vaccinated is the best way to end this pandemic. Alongside Dr. Cara Christ, Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and Maria Cristina Fuentes, Director of the Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith & Family (GOYFF), the following faith leaders highlighted the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine at First Institutional Baptist Church in Phoenix this morning.

  • Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr., Lead Pastor at First Institutional Baptist Church and Chairperson for the African American Christian Clergy Coalition 
  • Larrie Fraley, Lead Pastor of Global Outreach at Christ’s Church of the Valley
  • Eduardo Nevares, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix
  • Dr. Gloria J. Smith, Reverend at Encanto Community United Church of Christ
  •  Jennifer Reddall, Sixth Episcopal Bishop of Arizona
  • Gary Kinnaman, Former Senior Pastor of World of Grace 
  • John Linder, Rabbi at Temple Solel
  • Al Beasley, Reverend at First Christian Church of Globe (Disciples of Christ)
  • John Martinez, Reverend at New Beginnings Assembly of God
  • Roc Arnett, Representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
  • Dr. Benjamin Thomas, Sr., Reverend at the Historic Tanner Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church

Research suggests some groups are more hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and that targeted outreach to these groups is a key strategy to build confidence in vaccination efforts. Today’s event represents one step in Arizona’s work to ensure the COVID-19 vaccine is widely administered throughout our state. During the event, representatives from local religious communities - currently in prioritized groups - received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from Dr. Christ.

“Faith, and other community leaders, are critical and trusted voices in their communities and their partnership and support continues to have a significant impact as we work together to keep our communities safe and healthy,” said GOYFF Director Maria Cristina Fuentes. “We are grateful for faith leaders across the state who continue to raise awareness about the importance of everyone getting the COVID-19 vaccine.” 

“The importance of religious leaders in speaking to the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines cannot be overstated,” said ADHS Director Dr. Cara Christ. “As their turns come in vaccination priority, I hope more and more leaders share their experiences and encourage others to help develop the herd immunity we need to return to gathering safely in all settings.”

“As people of faith, we know caring for our neighbor is essential to both our spiritual and physical well-being and we are grateful for the development of revolutionary vaccine treatments that provide vital safety measures for ourselves and our loved ones,” said Reverend Katie Sexton, Executive Director of the Arizona Faith Network. “As faith leaders representing a variety of spiritual traditions across Arizona, we unite for the common good and believe that this common good is achieved by each person getting vaccinated when it is their time to do so.”

More than 736,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far to 601,630 Arizonans, including 121,397 who have received both doses. To date, 131,792 Arizonans have been vaccinated at the state-run vaccination sites since the opening of State Farm Stadium on Jan. 11 and Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Feb. 1. In less than three weeks, State Farm Stadium has administered over 25% of the total vaccine given in Maricopa County, which includes sites that have had vaccine since Dec. 14. Over 95% of those vaccinated at the site are Maricopa County residents. 

Groups prioritized to date include: frontline healthcare workers, emergency services workers, and residents and staff at long-term care facilities (in Phase 1A); and protective services workers; K-12, university, and community college educators; childcare workers; and adults 65 and older (prioritized Phase 1B). Each county’s current vaccine phase is listed on the ADHS website, which is updated daily. 

Those in groups prioritized for vaccination can register for available appointments at State Farm Stadium and multiple other vaccination sites at podvaccine.azdhs.gov. Information about all vaccination sites across Arizona can be found at azhealth.gov/findvaccine. Those without computer access or needing extra help registering can call 1-844-542-8201 to be connected with someone who can assist. Note: You can use the patient portal at podvaccine.azdhs.gov to make an appointment for a relative in a prioritized group, such as someone 65 and older.

To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination, please visit azdhs.gov/COVID19Vaccines.

 
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Big differences between the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the Phoenix area vs. rural Arizona
Posted: Feb 8 2021

Arizona Republic | Stephanie Innes & Alison Steinbach | Feb 5, 2021

As the state of Arizona is quickly expanding its drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination sites in Maricopa County, some outlying counties are struggling with logistical challenges and an unreliable supply.

Nearly 150,800 vaccines have been administered at the two state-operated sites — State Farm Stadium in Glendale, which opened Jan. 11, and Phoenix Municipal Stadium, which just opened Feb. 1. That's in addition to the 344,149 vaccinations administered at Maricopa County sites. 

At the same time, officials in several outlying counties are struggling with a low and inconsistent supply of vaccine. They are having trouble planning ahead.

In Cochise County this week, officials were able to offer just 100 first-dose appointments because of a lower-than-expected allocation.

Some Cochise County residents are driving to the state-operated sites in Phoenix and Glendale, but that option "does insert some real inequities in access," said Alicia Thompson, Cochise County's health and social services director.

Last week Thompson said she felt sick to her stomach when she learned that the county's entire allocation was 1,100 doses. She immediately set aside 1,000 for pre-booked second-dose appointments, which left just 100 first-dose appointments available.

"We just don't have the vaccine and that is why I've been contacting state legislators and other people because it's just very, very erratic," said Dr. Edward Miller, chief medical officer for the Copper Queen Community Hospital in Bisbee, which is in Cochise County. "We get as high as 4,500 doses in one week and then this week we get 1,100, but 1,000 of those are designated as second doses ... So we can do 100 new vaccines this week and that's ridiculous."

Cochise County had administered 13,100 vaccines as of Friday and 1,664 people, about 1.3% of the county population, had been fully vaccinated with two doses. Statewide, about 2% of Arizona's population as of Friday had been fully immunized with the COVID-19 vaccine, state data showed.

Yavapai County also has had problems with supply and planning.

"Early on, we were told if we built this system, they (the Arizona Department of Health Services) would supply us with vaccine to hopefully push out vaccine in rural Arizona, not just in Maricopa and Pima counties," Yavapai County Community Health Services Director Leslie Horton said.

"It takes a lot of work on rural counties to pull together the resources, the staffing, the support, and we’ve done that. Now we just hope that they’ll come through on their part and provide the vaccine that we need to run these."

Governor says he has not forgotten about rural counties

State Farm Stadium in Glendale, which opened Jan. 11, administered 8,200 COVID-19 vaccine doses on Thursday and the state-run vaccine site at Phoenix Municipal Stadium increased its daily doses on Friday to 2,000, up from the 500 per day it was doing when it opened Feb. 1.

Arizona Department of Health Services officials say they'd like to ramp up to 12,000 doses per day at both sites. Both health department director Dr. Cara Christ and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey say they have not forgotten about rural and outlying counties.

"We're focused on all of our counties. Maricopa may be getting more attention for the reason that it's the overwhelming majority population of our state. If you look at Maricopa and Pima you are talking about 85% of our state, so of course, we are going to focus our resources on that because that is where the people are," Ducey said Friday during a visit to State Farm Stadium.

State officials say supply is a problem across Arizona, and they are optimistic that the situation will improve. And erratic supply is an issue across the U.S., not just in Arizona, Ducey said.

"What we need is supply. We're going to open up a site in Pima County later in February," Ducey said. "But what's the consistent theme when you talk to anybody here ... we're going to say we need more inventory."

Christ said the state is looking at Coconino and Yuma counties to set up large vaccination sites similar to State Farm Stadium and Phoenix Municipal Stadium. They could possibly be state-run or a state-county hybrid, she said.

A site in Yuma would be welcome news for Phoenix resident Stephanie Parra, who was born and raised in Yuma. Her family still lives there, including her aunt, who is hospitalized and critically ill with COVID-19, and her parents, who have not received a vaccine yet.

"I know there is a great need. There is an entire state we have to worry about. But Yuma has been hit hard. I'm just frustrated. Why do we continue to forget about other parts of the state?" said Parra, a Phoenix Union High School District Board member who is the executive director of a Phoenix nonprofit organization.

"I want answers. They continue to say this (State Farm vaccination site) is a replicable, scalable model. I'd love a 24/7 site in Yuma. There's plenty of space — a lot of wide-open space. Yuma is not being given the attention it deserves. It is literally being devastated."

Yuma County has had the highest rate of COVID-19 infection in Arizona since the pandemic began, at 15,431 cases per 100,000 people as of Friday. The U.S. rate of COVID-19 infection as of Friday was 7,989 cases per 100,000 people.

Rural counties face unique challenges 

Some counties say their week-to-week allocations from the state vary widely, making it difficult to plan in advance and schedule appointments because the supply is not consistent or reliable. 

Yavapai County had administered more than 30,000 total doses, 90% of its supply, as of Friday, according to state data. It has one of the higher vaccination rates per 100,000 residents among Arizona counties.

But it's been a "turbulent process," Horton, the health director, said.

The county's first allocation from the state in late December was a "sizable" 8,200 doses, Horton said, allowing a quick start to vaccinating health care workers and other phase 1A individuals. But after that, weekly allocations have varied from 3,900 to 12,200 to 5,000 to 2,400, she said, some of which the county was able to bump up after requesting more from AZDHS. 

"We’ve had this very unsteady and ever-changing supply of vaccine each week," she said. "What’s tough from my perspective is that instability of supply for planning purposes. To maintain these operations on a rural level, we need to know that we have a consistent supply coming, or at least have some sort of outlook on that supply so that we can plan for it.”

» Read the complete article at link below:

    

   

 

 

 
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Arizona doctors wary of controversial ivermectin treatment for COVID-19
Posted: Feb 6 2021

ARIZONA CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING | by Terry Greene Sterling | February 5, 2021

PHOENIX – As the first wave of the pandemic picked up speed in Arizona in the spring of 2020, Juan and Rosa Aguirre heard that doctors in Mexico were prescribing a medicine thought to prevent and cure COVID-19. 

Like countless other American citizens, the Aguirres, who were both 57 and lived in Nogales, Arizona, crossed into Mexico to obtain and fill prescriptions. They brought back antibiotics, steroids, and the alleged COVID-19 miracle cure—ivermectin, a medicine approved by the Food and Drug Administration to kill certain intestinal worms and head lice in humans. 

The FDA has also approved the medicine as an antiparasitic for veterinary use. It comes in liquids, pastes and tablets for various animals, including heartworm chewables for dogs and apple-flavored dewormer paste for horses. 

Medical experts contend there isn’t yet enough credible science to justify using ivermectin as an off-label prevention or treatment for COVID-19. And some doctors warn there are risks to taking the drug, which can cause dangerous side effects. They’re especially concerned about people self-medicating with ivermectin formulated for animals. 

The FDA does not approve ivermectin formulated for either humans or animals to prevent or treat COVID-19. The National Institutes of Health in January issued guidelines that said, absent rigorous scientific studies, the NIH cannot “recommend either for or against the use of ivermectin for the use of COVID-19.”  

Merck & Co. Inc., which manufactures ivermectin for humans under the brand name Stromectol, on Feb. 4 released a statement saying there is “no scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against COVID-19 from pre-clinical studies,” adding there is “a concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies.”

The Arizona chapter of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons on Jan. 26 sent a letter to Gov. Doug Ducey asking him to make the controversial medicine “immediately available” to the state’s high risk populations, like prisoners and nursing home residents. Dr. Jane Orient, a Tucson physician and executive director of the AAPS, said she prescribes ivermectin to her patients for COVID-19.  

The governor’s office, meanwhile, has passed the AAPS letter to the Arizona Department of Health Services for review, said C.J. Karamargin, the governor’s spokesman.

The state health department refers questions regarding guidance for COVID-19 treatments to federal health agencies, ADHS spokeswoman Holly Poynter wrote in an email. “Currently, there is not an emergency use authorization for ivermectin in the U.S. to prevent or treat coronavirus or COVID-19,” she wrote. 

In a time of distrust of public health agencies and skepticism over government-approved vaccines, it’s not clear how many Arizonans are taking ivermectin to prevent or treat  COVID-19. But heightened controversy over the medicine is sweeping through the state at the very time health officials struggle to get residents vaccinated, new and more potent strains of the virus loom and Arizona battles an unprecedented wave of the virus. The Arizona Department of Health Services reports the state is nearing 800,000 coronavirus infections since the pandemic began in 2020, with nearly 14,000 Arizonans dying from the virus as of early February 2021.

Juan Aguirre and his wife Rosa ended up contracting coronavirus in June 2020. They think they were infected by their asymptomatic grandson, and immediately began taking the medicines they’d obtained in Mexico, including the ivermectin. Aguirre suffered intense fatigue, chest congestion and muscle aches, but recovered after a week. Rosa had a high fever and a paralyzing headache for several days. She recovered less quickly, with lingering side effects that eventually went away. 

Aguirre understands ivermectin might have had no impact on his recovery. It could have been any of the medicines he’d taken. Or none. Maybe the virus simply ran its course. 

Still, he can’t shake the feeling the ivermectin helped. He had been so sick and desperate, Aguirre said, if he hadn’t purchased the ivermectin pills for humans, he probably would have resorted to taking the veterinary medicine. 

Horse dewormer “incredibly risky” for humans

The ivermectin controversy gained heft in Arizona when a Wisconsin pulmonologist, Pierre Kory, told a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in December 2020  that mountains of data from around the world support ivermectin’s “miraculous impact” as a preventative and healing agent of COVID-19. 

“If you take it you will not get sick,” Kory said. 

The message reached into conspiracy-theory-tinged corners of the internet, including the recently deplatformed social media site Parler. 

Facebook has scrubbed some ivermectin posts and labeled others as misinformation. “Since COVID-19 was declared a global health emergency last January, we’ve removed misinformation about the pandemic that could contribute to imminent physical harm – including false claims about cures and treatments,” Kevin McAlister, a Facebook spokesman, wrote in an email. 

Arizona Sen. Nancy Barto, a Republican from Phoenix who chairs the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, has posted positive information about ivermectin on Twitter. “Doctors shouldn’t have to wait for national experts to give them permission to save lives when they have good evidence to believe they can make a positive difference in the lives of their patients,” Barto wrote in an email. 

It can be dangerous when those without medical backgrounds seek treatment information online, said Dr. Ross Goldberg, president of the Arizona Medical Association. He said people can hurt themselves when they self-prescribe.

There’s no telling how many Arizonans are taking the medicine now. Ivermectin for humans can be prescribed off-label by Arizona doctors like Jane Orient, or online in telehealth sites. The ivermectin veterinary medicine, which has not been tested on humans, can be purchased online or in feed stores.

“I understand that people are scared and people are anxious and COVID-19 fatigue is setting in, and I empathise with all that, but I am not a policy maker” said Dr. Aditya Shah, a physician and infectious disease expert at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Still, Shah said, most studies purporting that ivermectin is safe and effective in treating COVID-19 patients lack scientific rigor.  

Even one dose of ivermectin can cause troubling side effects, Shah said. They can include rashes, joint pain, enlargement of lymph nodes, elevated heart rate, low blood pressure, nausea, and effects on liver and kidney function. A little less than 1 percent and as many as 10 percent (depending on the side effect) of people who take ivermectin experience side effects, he said. 

Taking veterinary ivermectin, like horse dewormer, is “incredibly risky,” he added. And it sets patients up to have “hospital admission with life threatening side effects like liver failure, cardiovascular side effects and allergy issues.” 

Ivermectin users also may be putting others at risk. If they aren’t following public health safety guidelines and take ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19, Shah said, they may wrongly assume they are protected from infection. If they are asymptomatic, they could infect others. 

Dr. Daniel Derksen, a physician and the director of the Arizona Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona, where he is also a professor, said he’s puzzled “that some individuals and a few health providers are skeptical about the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines but are so gung-ho on ivermectin.” 

“We saw this previously with hydroxychloroquine,” he said, “which has been strongly discouraged by the CDC [Centers for Disease Control] and the scientific community for COVID-19.”

Waiting for the vaccine 

Arizona’s Dr. Jane Orient also spoke before the senate committee in December 2020. In a phone call, she maintains ivermectin for humans is a safe, effective medicine that has been taken by millions of people. Studies around the world, she said, provide evidence of the medicine’s efficacy in treating COVID-19 patients. 

“People are dying,” she said. “The drug has a positive effect. However, the public health authorities have been extremely negative.”  

If people are taking horse dewormer paste to prevent or cure COVID-19, she said, it’s probably because they’ve been denied ivermectin prescriptions by their doctors. But she warns some animal dewormers are “poisonous to humans.” 

“So if you’re going to resort to veterinary medicine make sure you know what’s in it,” Orient said.

As for Juan and Rosa Aguirre, they’re just counting the days until they can get vaccinated.

 
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Health officials ramp up COVID-19 vaccines with new sites, eligibility
Posted: Jan 19 2021

The Arizona Department of Health Services said Friday it is expanding its COVID-19 vaccination programs, adding distribution at pharmacies and at a second state-run site in the East Valley and broadening the number of people eligible for the vaccine. Dr. Daniel Derksen, director of the Arizona Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona, said it is important to remember that the state is up against tough odds. "I think that the logistics of carrying out a vaccination program in a state with a population over 7 million… is challenging," Derksen said.

  • Cronkite News, 1/15/21
  • Phoenix Business Journal, 1/15/21

» See PDF to view map and chart.


By Haleigh Kochanski/Cronkite News | Jan. 15, 2021

WASHINGTON – The Arizona Department of Health Services said Friday it is expanding its COVID-19 vaccination programs, adding distribution at pharmacies and at a second state-run site in the East Valley and broadening the number of people eligible for the vaccine.

The expansion comes as the state has already administered well over 200,000 doses of vaccine, which Dr. Cara Christ, health department director, called “an exciting milestone for Arizona.”

It also comes during a week in which the state posted the highest rate of new infections in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with an average of more than 8,800 cases per day over the past seven days.

Christ outlined a broad expansion of the vaccination program, which had delivered 217,716 doses of the two approved COVID-19 vaccines, or about 36% of the more than 600,000 doses that have been delivered to the state.

“Any dose that remains in storage remains a challenge to be addressed, but as a state we are gaining momentum in protecting prioritized Arizonans from COVID-19,” Christ said in a prepared statementthis week.

Because of the limited amount of vaccine available so far, the state has prioritized availability, with health care workers and long-term care residents getting first crack at vaccinations, followed by teachers and first responders, then essential workers and adults with high-risk conditions. Eligible groups vary by county, some of which have already worked their way through the highest-priority residents.

Among the changes unveiled Friday by Christ is the addition of a new state-run vaccination site at Phoenix Municipal Stadium on Feb. 1, to complement a 24/7 site that has been operating since Tuesday at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale. More than 16,000 doses had been administered at the State Farm site as of Thursday.

Hours of operation at the Phoenix site have not been determined, but people will be able start making appointments there on Tuesday by visiting the patient portal on the Arizona Department of Health Services website.

Christ also said the state expects to add up to 100 pharmacies across the state that will be able to deliver the vaccine under the CDC’s Retail Pharmacy Program. That program could ultimately have as many as 800 pharmacies with COVID-19 vaccine available in the state.

The state is also relaxing restrictions on recipients in the Phase 1B priority list to include 65-year-olds, who can begin applying Tuesday for an appointment to get vaccinated. That category had previously been limited to those 75 and older, and lowering the age restriction could open vaccine availability to about 750,000 Arizonans.

The two currently approved vaccines – from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna – require two doses, which must be administered within weeks of each other to be effective. As of this week, 21,612 Arizonans had received both doses, according to the state health department.

Despite the recent gains, vaccine delivery in the state has not been without its hitches, including some conflicts between state and county software to register for a vaccination.

“It’s very poor planning on the state health department’s part,” Will Humble, director of the Arizona Public Health Association, said of the software problems.

Although state officials have hailed operations at the State Farm Stadium site, Humble said the state needs to do a better job of spreading the wealth.

“The vaccine has not gotten out in significant numbers to other decentralized sites,” he said. “At this rate, it’s going to take a lot longer.”

Arizona has delivered more doses of the vaccine than most other states, ranking 18th-highest in terms of total doses delivered, according to a COVID-19 tracker maintained by Bloomberg.

But the state does not fare so well when it comes to the delivery of doses per 100,000 residents. The CDC said Arizona’s rate of 2,708 doses administered per 100,000 residents ranked 45th among states.

Christ on Friday dismissed the CDC numbers, saying they do not reflect the most current data from the state. She said the Bloomberg data is much more timely. But while Bloomberg reported Friday that Arizona had administered a higher rate of 3.19 doses per 100 residents – or 3,190 per 100,000 – that still tied the state for 40th in the nation.

But Dr. Daniel Derksen, director of the Arizona Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona, said it is important to remember that the state is up against tough odds.

“I think that the logistics of carrying out a vaccination program in a state with a population over 7 million … is challenging,” Derksen said Friday.

“I think the Arizona Department of Health Services has worked very closely with the 15 county health departments around the state to try to do this in a transparent … manner. The demand is enormous … we’re hoping that the distribution of vaccines will accelerate as we move forward.”

 
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COVID-19 cases in Arizona record single-day high for deaths
Posted: Jan 5 2021

AZ Big Media | Jan. 3, 2021

Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Arizona reached 567,474 on Tuesday, Jan. 5, an increase of 5,932 from the previous day, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 cases in Arizona stands at 9,317 after 253 new reported deaths, which establishes a single-day high for new deaths. Sunday’s increase of 17,234 new COVID-19 cases in Arizona shattered the previous single-day high of 12,324, which was set Dec. 8, 2020.

The state had been somewhat effective over the previous four months in combating the virus, but has shown major signs of regression. While July saw an average increase of 3,075 new cases a day, Arizona averaged 877 new cases a day in August, averaged 552 new cases a day in September, but the number crept back up to an average of 903 new cases a day in October, and Arizona averaged 2,600 new cases a day in November. In December, the state averaged 6,073 new cases per day, about double that of the previous worst month. Arizona has already recorded 47,267 new cases in January, an average of 9,453 new cases per day.

The numbers can be numbing. And that’s exactly what health officials fear.

Hospital capacity is being stretched to the breaking point, with COVID-19 patients taking up a record 61% of beds in the state’s intensive care units, and health care workers struggling under the strain.

But news of the disease, while prominent, does not command the headlines or the attention it did just months ago.

“The phenomenon some call COVID fatigue is real, and it’s dangerous,” said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, in a late-November video update.

It’s also not surprising, said Stephen Benning, associate professor of psychology at University of Nevada Las Vegas, who said repeated exposure to something, such as an event, can reach a point where it no longer elicits the same response it once did.

“We’ve become kind of numb to the daily horrors of the increasing case counts, death toll, other kinds of things, and have kind of adapted to that,” Benning said

And the increases are everywhere. A winter surge in cases is being seen around the globe, and the pandemic in the U.S. has shifted from isolated hotspots, like Arizona this summer, to a problem being felt nationwide.

“At this point, death becomes baked into our expectation of what will happen with this virus,” Benning said. “Whereas before, many people believed it wasn’t any worse than the flu.”

He said that COVID fatigue can lead to less caution, which in turn could result in “twice, three times as many deaths as we could have had.”

“We risk making this a much deadlier virus, by letting it spread unchecked through the community,” Benning said.

That complacency is troubling to Arizona health experts. A state health department spokesperson said in an email this month that pandemic fatigue “is an area of concern as it may cause individuals to let down their guard.”

But Christ and others warn that now is the time to stay alert.

“To protect everyone, we have to stay committed to our prevention efforts, even as a vaccine becomes a reality,” Christ said. “The numbers tell the story, COVID-19 remains active in our communities.”

COVID-19 in Arizona is still “a real issue and the data is very disturbing,” said Dr. Daniel Derksen, director for the Arizona Center for Rural Health, pointing to the rising demand for hospital beds across the state.

The state reported that 61% of hospital ICU beds were occupied by 1,076 COVID-19 patients Tuesday, with another 29% of beds used by non-COVID patients, leaving just 178 ICU beds available in Arizona hospitals. The stress is particularly strong in rural areas, Derksen said.

“Certain counties are at much higher rates of infection and also death rates per 100,000,” he said. “There are four counties that are particularly concerning because they’re three to four times the death rate per 100,000 as Arizona overall or compared to more urban counties.”

The death rate is also surging again, both nationally and in Arizona, with numbers again approaching the death toll from the summer, when health care workers did not know as much about how to treat the disease.

As COVID-19 deaths continue to rise, Benning says conceptualizing the toll across the nation is harder to do than it was during early, concentrated outbreaks.

“Early on in the pandemic, there was much more horror at particular death tolls when it was concentrated in New York or in Northern Italy, than when it’s diffused and spread across the entire country,” he said.

But the disease does not seem to be drawing as much attention now, even though Benning said that globally, “We are now losing more people, or have lost more people, in one day than even in the worst days of the early pandemic.”

As those numbers have gone up, the number of briefings held by elected officials has gone down, with daily news conferences at the White House and in hard-hit states like New York reduced to occasional meetings now.

That is also true in Arizona, where Gov. Doug Ducey held weekly COVID-related events from April 29 to Aug. 31, when the briefings shifted to once a month. Christ continues to post weekly videos of updates on the health department’s YouTube channel, but typically holds news conferences in partnership with Ducey.

Will Humble, director of the Arizona Public Health Association, and a former director of AZDHS, said he could not understand why the shift in communication occurred – especially in what statistically is becoming the worst months of the pandemic for the state.

While the statistics look grim now, Humble believes there is still time for a wake-up call. He said he expects a stronger reaction from the public once hospitals start to reach capacity around the state.

“It is very similar to where we were in, say, June 15,” Humble said. “People were not freaking out yet – a month later, in July, people were freaking out because hospitals were over capacity. It became a lot more real in July.

“Basically, the hospital crisis hasn’t hit its apex yet. It will in the next few weeks,” he said.

COVID-19 is a serious disease that can be fatal in anyone, especially our elderly population and people with underlying health conditions. ADHS advises everyone to take precautions:

The best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

• Wear a mask when you are in close proximity to other people.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

• Stay home when you are sick.

• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then immediately throw the tissue in the trash.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

COVID-19 spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms are thought to appear within two to 14 days after exposure and consist of fever, cough, runny nose, and difficulty breathing. For people with mild illness, individuals are asked to stay home, drink plenty of fluids, and get rest. For people with more severe symptoms, such as shortness of breath, individuals are advised to seek healthcare.

ADHS activated its Health Emergency Operations Center on January 27th after the first case of travel-associated COVID-19 was confirmed in Arizona. The Health Emergency Operations Center remains open to coordinate the State’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak. For more information about the COVID-19 response in Arizona, go online to azhealth.gov/COVID19.

 
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ACA enrollment uptick a ‘pleasant surprise’ after years of declines
Posted: Dec 21 2020

By Josh Ortega/Cronkite News | Dec. 21, 2020

WASHINGTON – After years of steady declines, enrollment in Affordable Care Act coverage ticked up in Arizona and held steady in the U.S. this year in what one advocate called a “pleasant surprise” after a challenging year.

The six-week open enrollment period that ended last Tuesday showed enrollment going from 153,020 in Arizona for coverage plans for this year to 154,265 people who signed up for coverage in 2021, according to preliminary numbers released Friday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Nationally, the number of people signing up for coverage in the federal exchange dipped from 8.3 million last year to 8.2 million this year – but federal officials note that New Jersey and Pennsylvania shifted from the federal marketplace to state-based marketplaces this year. That removed 578,251 people from those states who would otherwise have been counted on the federal rolls.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in a statement Friday that the Trump administration’s “focus on delivering more choices along with a smooth and streamlined consumer experience continues to drive strong enrollment.”

“We’ve opened more pathways to enroll by taking advantage of the private sector and people are clearly finding the coverage they need at this critical time,” she said.

Morgan Tucker, state director for Protect Our Care Arizona, agreed that more people took advantage of coverage this year – but she said it was no thanks to the Trump administration, which she accused of trying to “sabotage” the Obama-era health insurance program.

“Despite anything they may have heard over the last four years, it is safe, reliable health insurance that they can trust,” Tucker said of coverage available under the “Obamacare” program.

The ACA has also been under assault by a coalition of states, including Arizona, that argued before the Supreme Court this fall that the plan is unconstitutional. A ruling in that case is not expected for months, but Tucker said it cast a shadow over this year’s open enrollment.

As in years past, the majority of enrollments came in the last week of the six-week open enrollment period – a much shorter time frame than was allowed in the first years of Obamacare.

More than half of this year’s total enrollment of 8.3 million came in the final 10 days, when 4.4 million people signed up, many of them returning customers, according to CMS data.

This is no surprise to Allen Gjersvig, director of outreach and enrollment services with the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers.

“Most enrollments in Arizona always take place after Thanksgiving,” he said. “It’s just the phenomenon.”

Dr. Daniel Derksen, associate vice president for Health Equity, Outreach and Interprofessional Activities at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, said he encourages every Arizonan to “take a look, shop and compare” coverage plans available through the ACA. It is especially important to do so in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

“This could be a devastating, bankrupting experience when you need care, and you don’t have coverage,” Derksen said.

Tucker agreed that this “unique year” has proven why health insurance coverage is so crucial.

“I think it’s not a time to gamble with your health,” she said. “You might be young and healthy but that doesn’t make you invincible.”

She said the biggest hurdle during open enrollment this year was trying to get the word out to Arizonans through online events. She said that with a cut in funding for ACA outreach, her organization had to work hard to remind people about the dates for the open enrollment period, but even if someone missed the deadline there’s still options available to get coverage.

“It will come as no surprise that the federal government cut funding for open enrollment outreach, so it was all done through (online) events just trying to get the word out,” Tucker said.

Gjersvig the full picture for this year’s open enrollment won’t come out until January, but he’s optimistic. He also said he hopes the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden – who was vice president when Obamacare was enacted – will bring a public information campaign to clear up any misinformation about the ACA.

As for the Supreme Court, which heard arguments in the ACA case, California v. Texas, on Nov. 10, Derksen thinks “it’s highly unlikely that the entire Affordable Care Act will be invalidated.” The court upheld the law once already, in 2012, but the court has shifted to a conservative majority since then. Even if the court disagrees with part of the law now, however, Derksen doubts it will overturn the entire program.

“It seems unlikely that by repealing the tax penalty somehow invalidates the entire Affordable Care Act seems implausible,” he said.

Even though open enrollment ended on Dec. 15, Tucker said there is still a chance to enroll for people who were in line by the close of open enrollment or for people who have had life changes like a job loss or the birth of a child. And she urged people to do so if they can.

“If there’s ever a time where it’s crucial to have health insurance coverage, it’s right now,” she said.

 
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State posts new COVID-19 case record, as possible holiday surge looms
Posted: Dec 2 2020

By Josh Ortega/Cronkite News | Dec. 1, 2020

WASHINGTON – Arizona reported a record 10,322 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, more than twice the previous high, as cases surged ahead of a holiday season that one health expert said could be a “real scary time.”

State health officials were quick to point out that Tuesday’s numbers were artificially high because they encompassed a backlog of cases from the four-day holiday weekend.

But the seven-day average for new cases this week still topped 4,300 a day for the first time, renewing fears that hospitals could soon be overwhelmed and sending local governments scrambling to impose new restrictions.

“While today’s higher numbers have a simple explanation due to the long weekend, the numbers are still trending in a concerning direction,” said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, “especially considering that the number of holiday parties and gatherings are expected to increase over the next few weeks.”

The increase in cases brought the state’s total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 337,139 as of Tuesday, when an additional 48 deaths brought the state’s pandemic-related death toll to 6,687 since the first case was reported in the state in late January.

This surge is the second in Arizona, which was a national hotspot for the disease this summer when surging cases were blamed on the fact that health protocols were abruptly lifted before Memorial Day weekend, when people congregated for parties and get-togethers.

Health experts fear the trend could repeat itself now as people travel and get together for the winter holidays, a threat that could be made worse by the regular flu season.

Dr. Daniel Derksen, an associate vice president at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, said the holiday trips that many people took this weekend put the state in a dire circumstance in regard to the number of hospital beds. 

“The cascade effect of what’s happening right now affects not only the people who have these severe consequences of COVID-19 infection,” he said, “but really limits the ability of the health system to manage all of the other health problems that continue to occur, along with entering the influenza season.”

Derksen said the “real scary time” for public health experts will be the next two to six weeks when holiday travel will ramp up again. But the results could be worse, and they won’t be felt just in Arizona.

“It’s not just Arizona hospitals that are reaching their saturation,” he said. “It’s the whole region.”

Holly Ward, spokesperson for the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, said it’s not unusual to see an increase in hospitalizations in the state during the winter, but COVID-19 adds another layer to that dynamic. 

“Typically, in the winter months we see an increase in hospitalizations, but now that we add COVID to this, we’re getting dangerously high in the ICU (intensive care unit) bed utilization that’s happening now,” Ward said.

She said hospitals and health care facilities as a whole have always stood ready to take in any patient, no matter the circumstances, but she urged people to do their part to keep from putting a strain on those “healthcare heroes.”

“Hospitals are there to care for anybody that comes to us,” she said. “But we also rely on our community to do their part to not stress the hospital system with a disease that most of us can prevent catching.”

Local governments across the state have started implementing – or reimposing – precautions to stop the spread of the virus as infections continue to surge.

In Payson, Mayor Tom Morrissey reinstated an emergency proclamation requiring that people wear a face covering in town until further notice. He said there’s a “mutating factor” with the fluidity of the spread of this virus. 

The Tucson City Council voted unanimously Tuesday evening to impose a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew beginning this Friday. The curfew, which starts Friday and runs through Dec. 22, will mean only essential workers can be out during those hours.

The Tucson action was sparked by a memo Friday from the University of Arizona’s COVID-19 Modeling Team that said without action to stop the spread, Arizona “risks a catastrophe on a scale of the worst natural disaster this state has ever experienced.”

Ward said the state learned a lot from the pandemic’s summer surge that has helped it better prepare for the current resurgence.

“Having been through a surge in the summer, we have set up some pretty significant protocol and preparedness as a statewide system,” she said. “We all have a responsibility, but we all have control over ourselves for sure, if not the ability to help our family, friends and community, in doing what we can to stop this.”

Derksen said that while effective COVID-19 vaccines are on the horizon, it might be months before they are available to the general public, and that the challenge of delivering those doses alone will be “quite a logistical endeavor.”

He said the best thing anyone can do is stick to the tried-and-true preventive measures repeated by healthcare experts all year: Wear a mask, maintain your distance, wash your hands and avoid crowds. 

“Help’s on the way, but right now, the best measures are the self-help measures that you can do,” Derksen said. “You’re going to get exposed if you’re not careful.”

 

 
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Arizona comes up short on report on lung cancer screening, treatment
Posted: Nov 18 2020

By Josh Ortega/Cronkite News | Nov. 17, 2020

WASHINGTON – Arizona was in the bottom tier in three of six categories in a new American Lung Association report, which put the state dead-last for the number of patients who receive treatment after getting a diagnosis of lung cancer.

The 2020 “State of Lung Cancer” report released Tuesday also said Arizona ranked 46th among states for the number of patients who get surgery as a first course of treatment, and 44th for the number of people who get lung cancer screenings.

But the state was in the middle of the pack when it came to the early diagnosis of lung cancer and the five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with the disease.

And Arizona was among the best in the nation when it came to new lung cancer cases, with 47.1 new cases per 100,000 residents in the state compared to 57.8 per 100,000 nationally.

“The goal of the (report) is to empower the public to learn more about lung cancer in Arizona,” said JoAnna Strother, senior director of advocacy for the American Lung Association. “And to take action to improve lung cancer patient’s access to quality and affordable health care.”

One new aspect of the annual report is a breakdown of data by race and ethnicity. In almost every category, the report said minority groups were worse off than whites when it came to early diagnosis, treatment after diagnosis and surgical treatment. Asian Americans topped whites only in the area of surgical treatment, with the report saying they were 11% more likely to get surgical care.

Dr. Dan Derksen, associate vice president for Health Equity, Outreach & Interprofessional Activities at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, said racial and ethnic data jumped out to him because of Arizona’s relatively large Hispanic and Native American populations.

“Those populations are disproportionately affected for a number of reasons,” he said, including the cost of health insurance, as well as cost of and access to preventive health services.

The report said Latinos were 13% less likely than whites to get an early diagnosis, 2% less likely to get surgical care and 39% more likely to go without treatment after a diagnosis. Native Americans got an early diagnosis 14% less often than whites, got surgical treatment 19% less often and received any kind of follow-up treatment 15% less often.

Arizona was in the majority of states, along with 37 others, that cover lung cancer screening under the state’s Medicaid program. Derksen said that is a radical shift from when he first started in medicine.

“We didn’t screen for lung cancer because it was felt that it was such a lethal diagnosis,” he said. “Why screen for it, it wouldn’t change the outcomes.”

Derksen said that improvements in lung cancer have made the disease less of a “death sentence,” but the key remains screening for the disease to reduce mortality.

Strother agreed that “screening is the key to finding lung cancer early when it’s much more curable.”

She said overall the mission of this report is about bring awareness to those at higher risk of the disease, including people age 55 and older, current smokers or those who have quit in the past 15 years and “30 pack-year” smokers – someone who smoked a pack a day for 30 years, or two packs a day for 15 years.

Strother said those groups are eligible for a low-dose CT scan that could help with early detection, but few take advantage of it.

“Even though this simple screening test has been available since 2015, only 2.3% of those eligible in Arizona are actually being screened,” she said.

The national average was more than twice the Arizona rate, but still only a paltry 5.7% of those who were at high-risk had undergone screenings.

The report only looked at state Medicaid programs. Strother said if someone is looking into getting health insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s health care marketplace, they should do their research.

“It would really depend on the plan … and to make sure that screenings are covered through that,” she said.

Health experts said it’s hard to know how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect this screening, but the goal remains to educate people on what they currently know and the options available for screening.

“We’ll certainly improve things in Arizona if we’re able to get the information out, not only to individuals who are at risk, but also the health providers that treat them,” Derksen said.

 
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Gov. Ducey Proclaims November 19, 2020 "Rural Health Day"
Posted: Nov 10 2020

Governor Doug Ducey officially designates November 19, 2020, Ruralth Health Day in Arizona.

Rural Health Day Proclamation

 
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State tops 250,000 COVID-19 cases, 6,000 deaths, renewing safety calls
Posted: Nov 8 2020

CRONKITE NEWS | By Josh Ortega | Nov 5, 2020

WASHINGTON – State officials repeated calls for Arizonans to take commonsense health measures, as the state passed two grim milestones this week in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Arizona Department of Health Services reported that the state surpassed 6,000 coronavirus-related deaths Tuesday, one day before it reported that total cases had topped the quarter-million mark. By Thursday, the numbers stood at 6,087 dead and 252,768 people infected.

“The increased cases and percent positivity show that COVID-19 is still actively circulating in our communities,” said Dr. Cara Christ, the health department director. “Now is not the time to let our guard down.”

Her comments came in a video Thursday, released along with a report updating the state of the disease in Arizona. Christ said that while every county in the state meets “moderate” or lower rates of transmission that allow for reopening of schools and businesses, there is no denying the rise in the infection rate and percent positivity in many counties. 

“We have seen cases rise over the past month globally, nationally and locally,” she said. “The increase this fall was expected, with more Arizonans returning to school and reopening of many businesses.”

Christ said the solution is simple – residents need to follow measures that have worked well to bring the disease under control since summer, such as wearing masks, washing hands and avoiding large gatherings.

Health experts around the state agreed with Christ, but also suggested that more needs to be done, such as a statewide mask mandate, which Gov. Doug Ducey has shied away from so far.

“Now that the election is behind us, I’m hoping that we will see some slightly more aggressive intervention measures from the governor,” said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association and former director of the state health department.

Humble said the main issue now is moving to prevent more cases rather than dwelling on the “grim” statistics of this week. He said that means boosting compliance and enforcement at bars, restaurants and nightclubs, as well as a statewide mask mandate “but, time will tell.”

Dan Derksen, associate vice president for health equity, outreach and interprofessional activities at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, said the state might have to consider measures such as the stay-at-home orders imposed this summer to protect the availability of hospital beds. 

Derksen said that while hospitals have become better about identifying and treating COVID-19 patients, mask-wearing still remains “the most effective tool” to reduce the spread of the virus.

“Compared to other states, Arizona is doing perhaps a little better, but we’re concerned about this trend in increases,” Derksen said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranked Arizona 10th in the U.S. in recent weeks for total COVID-19 cases. 

Derksen said the evidence is “incredibly clear” that masks also reduce hospitalization and death rates, but that it has become politicized during this election season when “wearing a mask is somehow going against who you’re voting for.”

“That’s just kind of ridiculous when it comes to public health measures that are evidence-based and proven effective,” he said.

Holly Ward, communications director for the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association, said hospitals remain dedicated to helping, but that individuals need to do their part to prevent another surge in demand for hospital beds.

“We have seen how the proper use of facial coverings along with public health basics works to stop the spread of this virus,” Ward said in an email Tuesday. She said other important measures include hand-washing, staying home when sick and avoiding gatherings in large groups when you cannot socially distance.

Christ agreed that there are enough available hospital beds to handle COVID-19 patients and others – for now.

“Our hospitals currently report sufficient capacity in their inpatient and intensive care unit beds, but the number of beds in use has increased over the past few weeks,” she said.

Christ noted that Arizona enjoys one advantage in the fight against COVID19 over other states, where people will soon be heading indoors to avoid the cold: The climate allows Arizonans to stay outside and socially distance.

“We encourage everyone to move gatherings outside while following other COVID-19 precautions, she said.

Christ also said Thursday that the age group hit hardest by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases is 20 to 44-year-olds – particularly college students- with more than 3,700 infections reported last week, almost half of the total number of new cases reported in the state. While college-age individuals saw the highest rates, the most recent data this week shows cases rose among all age groups. 

Humble said experts know that COVID-19 “eats” on human behavior and can still spread easily through populations, regardless of whether they are in urban or rural areas.

“The more socially connected your network is in person, the more likely the virus is to spread,” he said.

Rural counties – such as Navajo, Apache, Yuma, Santa Cruz – have continued to see the highest rates of infection, according to AZDHS.

Humble said masks remain a “very effective intervention” tool for indoor gatherings that “doesn’t cost anything except political capital.” If people do not wear face coverings in public now, he said, it is more likely the state will end up with another hospital crisis and stay-at-home order in coming months.

“It doesn’t need to last forever,” Humble said of a mask requirement. “It just needs to be in place until we get wide distribution of the vaccine.”

 

 
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