|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 1, 2021 19:11:07 GMT
20,000 Arizonans have died from COVID-19
kjzz.org/content/1720884/20000-arizonans-have-died-covid-19
By Katherine Davis-Young
Published: Friday, October 1, 2021 - 9:11am
Arizona has reached another sad milestone in the pandemic. 20,000 Arizonans have now died from COVID-19.
More than 1,000 Arizonans died from COVID-19 just in the month of September. That's nearly double the number lost in August.
Recently, Arizona has been reporting about 40 deaths per day. That daily average climbed throughout the summer, but now appears to be trending downward.
Overall, about one in every 360 Arizonans has died from COVID-19. That rate remains among the highest in the country.
Get The Latest News On COVID-19 In Arizona
kjzz.org/coronavirus
|
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 26, 2021 10:49:26 GMT
Arizona's pandemic outlook worries experts as mask and vaccine mandate battles ragewww.yahoo.com/news/arizonas-pandemic-outlook-worries-experts-124533464.html
Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, right, answers a question about the latest Arizona COVID-19 information during a news conference as Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ listens Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)
Annabelle Timsit, (c) 2021, The Washington Post
Mon, October 25, 2021, 5:45 AM
Arizona has caught up to New York when it comes to reported deaths per capita - even though the latter was ravaged by the coronavirus early in the pandemic before treatments or vaccines were developed.
Some health experts worry Arizona could be headed for a deepening crisis as winter approaches. Although average daily deaths from covid-19 remain much lower than during the state's second wave in January, Arizona experienced a 138% increase in the 7-day rolling average of daily new deaths per 100,000 people last week, according to data collected by The Washington Post.
Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.
"It's bad," Will Humble, executive director of Arizona's Public Health Association, told The Post.
Some public health experts say Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, lifted pandemic-related restrictions in March without putting in place measures to mitigate the risks of reopening, causing cases to rise again in July just as the more contagious delta variant was becoming the most common coronavirus variant in the United States.
Now, Ducey - who is vaccinated and has urged others to get vaccinated but argues it should be a personal choice - is engaged in a battle against the federal government on several fronts in an effort to prevent mask mandates in schools and vaccine mandates in workplaces in his state.
Last week, the U.S. Labor Department warned Arizona (and two other states) about its "continued failure to adopt" a Biden administration emergency public health directive requiring, among other measures, that health-care workers receive paid time off to get vaccinated and to recover from potential side effects. Ducey called the reprimand, which could result in the federal government stripping the state of its ability to enforce its own workplace safety standards, "nothing short of a political stunt and desperate power grab."
Arizona on Saturday reported 3,145 cases of the coronavirus and 30 deaths from covid-19 - twice as many daily cases as the state was reporting three months ago. The governor's office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Humble attributes this increase to the delta variant, a lack of public health restrictions and pockets of vaccine resistance among the elderly, a more vulnerable population.
More than 52% of Arizona's population is fully vaccinated, according to Post data, but "we've hit a brick wall when it comes to vaccinating vaccine-resistant seniors," explains Humble, "so that's what's causing the continued influx into the hospital system." He says that won't change; "they're just going to end up getting infected," he predicts.
During the summer of 2020, Arizona's health authorities activated crisis standards of care, and hospitals began rationing medical supplies. The situation has improved, but the persistently high levels of cases and deaths following a long period of low community transmission are concerning, according to a recent report written by Joe Gerald, associate professor at the University of Arizona's Zuckerman College of Public Health, and Patrick Wightman, a researcher at the school's Center for Population Science and Discovery.
"Despite the knowledge and ability to do better, absolute rates of community transmission remain higher this year than last among all age groups but particularly among children," the report published last week states, with the caveat that "improvements [are] being observed this year while rates were worsening this time last year."
Humble also says it's not clear how successful a campaign to roll out pediatric coronavirus vaccines among 5-to-11-year-olds will be if it receives Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approval to kick off next month. He estimates that only a portion of parents in Arizona "are enthusiastic" about getting their child vaccinated - a step he and other experts say is crucial to reducing community transmission at a time when children between 5 and 11 have a higher per capita weekly incidence of the coronavirus than 65-to-74-year-olds nationwide.
Only 21% of Arizonans under the age of 20 are vaccinated, according to state data, compared to 93% of people ages 65 and up. "It's not like the kids are ending up in the hospitals, but they are starting chains of transmission [to] vaccine-resistant adults and seniors who do end up in the hospitals," Humble says.
Arizona is not the only state with a concerning public health outlook: According to Post analysis, daily deaths have increased by 267% over the past seven days in Alaska, by 143% in Montana and by 100% in Rhode Island.
Still, it's a particularly sensitive time for public health as winter approaches, bringing with it a potential "twindemic" of influenza and rising covid-19 infections, and as evidence begins to suggest that the protection from infection conferred by the coronavirus vaccines can start to wane after a few months.
Arizona ranks 38th in the nation in terms of share of people ages 65 and over who have received a booster dose, Gerald and Wightman note in their report.
"With waning vaccine efficacy and a potentially short duration of acquired immunity, herd immunity is not achievable," they say. "As winter approaches, more previously vaccinated and previously infected individuals will become susceptible."
Related Content
Scientific reclamation: How the iconic Jefferson Memorial was restored
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/interactive/2021/scientific-reclamation-how-iconic-jefferson-memorial-was-restored/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=nss_yahoo
Democrats resurrect Warren's wealth tax, at a critical moment for Biden
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/warren-biden-tax-agenda/2021/10/25/452f9aaa-35aa-11ec-9bc4-86107e7b0ab1_story.html?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=nss_yahoo
Pelosi: Democrats 'pretty much there now' on deal on social spending bill
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/24/pelosi-democrats-social-spending-bill/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=nss_yahoo
|
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Dec 12, 2021 22:10:16 GMT
As of today December 12, 2021, 23,040 Arizonans have died from Covid. That's 3,040 dead since October 1st of this year (10 weeks). Those testing positive have held steady with over 3000 diagnosed per day. Things are not going well.
Just in comparison Arizona has one third the population of Australia and has had more covid deaths in ten weeks than Australia has had since the pandemic began two years ago.
With the approach of the holidays I expect things to worsen. No cases of the new variant Omicron yet that I know of but it could be a blessing to get that variant rather than the more deadly Delta.
|
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Jan 13, 2022 19:24:46 GMT
January 13, 2022 Arizona hits 25,000 dead from Covid
That's 1962 deaths in the past 4 weeks.
Arizona Passes 25,000 Deaths From COVID-19 Since Pandemic's Start
www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/arizona-passes-25000-deaths-from-covid-19-since-pandemics-start/ar-AASKED5
Caitlin Sievers - 1h ago
There were only 78 intensive care unit beds available in hospitals across the state as of Wednesday.
PHOENIX, AZ — More than 25,000 Arizonans have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic nearly two years ago, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Of those deaths, 14,064 were in Maricopa County, according to department statistics.
The department added 18,573 cases across Arizona to its official count on Thursday, along with 10 new deaths.
The official Arizona death total as of Thursday was 25,002, with total cases reported since the start of the pandemic at more than 1,500,000.
So far more than 16 million tests have been administered and recorded in the state, with a 10.8 percent positive rate.
In Maricopa County alone, 9,849,315 tests have been administered with a positive rate of 11.3 percent.
While case rates are spiking, Arizona still isn't nearing its previous peaks for hospitalization and intensive care bed usage for COVID-19 patients.
As of Wednesday, COVID-19 patients occupied 629 ICU beds, or 38 percent of beds in the state, compared to 1,183 during the last COVID-19 wave a year ago, before vaccinations were widely rolled out.
However, because there are more patients in ICUs overall at the moment, including for conditions other than the coronavirus. There were only 78 ICU beds available across the state as of Wednesday. That's fewer beds available than during last year's spike.
Similarly, while fewer COVID-19 patients are taking up hospital beds outside the ICU than during previous peaks, there are still fewer hospital beds available across the state than during previous peaks. This is because there are more people hospitalized for other conditions besides COVID-19, in addition to the coronavirus patients.
As of Wednesday, there were 2,920 COVID-19 patients in hospital beds across the state, compared to 5,055 during last January's peak. However, during last year's peak around 7 percent of hospital beds were available compared to 5 percent as of Wednesday.
|
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Jan 27, 2022 8:40:37 GMT
So in 13 days Arizona added 899 covid deaths. Try to get accepted into a hospital for something other than covid. They are FULL.
First COVID-19 case reported in Arizona 2 years ago: What's happened, what's to come
www.fox10phoenix.com/news/first-covid-19-case-reported-in-arizona-2-years-ago-whats-happened-whats-to-come
By Nicole Garcia Published January 26, 2022 12:51PM Updated 5:38PM Coronavirus in Arizona FOX 10 Phoenix
2 years after first COVID case was reported in Arizona, experts still dealing with deadly pandemic
On Jan. 26, 2020, health officials announced that an Arizona State University student tested positive for the novel coronavirus after traveling from Wuhan, China. Since then, more than 25,000 people in the state have died from complications related to the disease we now know as COVID-19. FOX 10's Nicole Garcia reports.
PHOENIX - Jan. 26, 2022 marks two years since the first COVID-19 case was reported in Arizona.
According to a statement released on the Arizona Department of Health Services website on Jan. 26, 2020, the person infected was a member of the Arizona State University community who did not live in university housing. The person had recently returned from travel to Wuhan, China before he was diagnosed.
At the time, the statement merely mentioned the ‘2019 Novel Coronavirus,' and the disease had no official name. The disease we now know as COVID-19 was officially named as such on Feb. 11, 2020.
Since that first case, many others have tested positive for COVID-19. According to numbers from AZDHS on Jan. 26, there are a total of 1,799,503 cases in Arizona, and 25,899 total deaths. On Jan. 26 alone, AZDHS officials reported more than 18,229 new positive cases and 275 deaths.
What has changed since Jan. 26, 2020?
Since the first reported case of COVID-19 in Arizona, the state, along with much of the world, is still struggling to overcome the fast-mutating virus that causes COVID-19.
"I don’t think any of us could've predicted we would still be dealing with it to the magnitude we are, two years after the initial case," said Dr. Michael White, Chief Clinical Officer with Valleywise Health.
Although there has been major developments in vaccines and treatments, cases and hospitalizations are surging once again, and hospitals still dealing with lack of staffing and an influx of patients.
Two years ago, researchers had hoped that herd immunity would develop, but that possibility has now faded.
"The models that we worked with in the early days made the assumption that once you had seen the virus and were immune, you couldn’t get it again," said Dr. Joshua LaBaer with the Arizona State University Biodesign Institute. "Now with omicron, that’s shown us if you’ve had the infection before, you can still get it again. That means it’s never going to be fully gone."
Virus remains inpredictable
The world has seen new variants of the virus that causes COIVD-19 emerge, with delta and omicron being two of the more prominent variants that have circulated.
Now, according to some scientists, a new sub-variant of omicron has been found in Arizona. It seems the ongoing lesson Arizonans are learning is that the virus is unpredictable.
"Currently, we have sequenced 29 cases of the omicron ba2 variant," said Efrem Lim, an assistant professor with ASU.
"We’ll have to see how it goes over the next few weeks, whether it becomes dominant. It’s too early for us to predict anything at this point," said Dr. White.
Continued Coverage
Arizona health official on omicron: 'We have not reached our peak yet'
Embry Health cleans up after Phoenix-area COVID-19 testing sites' tents destroyed by weekend storm
Navajo Nation officials distribute masks and sanitizers in New Mexico
Arizona governor sues Biden administration to keep school anti-mask mandate rules
Tune in to FOX 10 Phoenix for the latest news
For the latest local news, download the FOX 10 News app
COVID-19 symptoms
Symptoms for coronavirus COVID-19 include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. These, of course, are similar to the common cold and flu.
Expect a common cold to start out with a sore or scratchy throat, cough, runny and/or stuffy nose. Flu symptoms are more intense and usually come on suddenly, and can include a high fever.
Symptoms of COVID-19 may appear more slowly. They usually include fever, a dry cough and noticeable shortness of breath, according to the World Health Organization. A minority of cases develop pneumonia, and the disease is especially worrisome for the elderly and those with other medical problems such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes or heart conditions.
RELATED: Is it the flu, a cold or COVID-19? Different viruses present similar symptoms
COVID-19 resources
CDC Website for COVID-19
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus
espanol.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html (In Spanish/En Español)
AZDHS Website for COVID-19
www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/index.php#novel-coronavirus-home
www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/es/covid-19/index.php#novel-coronavirus-home (In Spanish/En Español)
MORE: Coronavirus in Arizona: Latest case numbers
|
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Mar 9, 2022 22:57:12 GMT
There's so many people who have lost so much': Arizona's COVID-19 death rate is 2nd-highest in U.S.
kjzz.org/content/1762225/theres-so-many-people-who-have-lost-so-much-arizonas-covid-19-death-rate-2nd-highest
By Katherine Davis-Young
Published: Wednesday, March 9, 2022 - 4:46am
Updated: Wednesday, March 9, 2022 - 8:45am
Listen to this story
media.kjzz.org/s3fs-public/COVID_memorial_20220309.mp3?uuid=62292f09080b8
Photos of Arizonans who have died from COVID-19 are displayed during a memorial at the Arizona Heritage Center on March 7, 2022.
On Monday afternoon, Sam Beeson sat in a folding chair outside the Arizona Heritage Center in Tempe. He was waiting for a memorial for COVID-19 victims to begin. He was there in honor of his wife, Jennifer.
kjzz.org/content/1762128/arizonans-memorialize-loved-ones-lost-covid-19
“She was my high school sweetheart,” Beeson said. This month would have marked the couple’s 38th wedding anniversary.
covid-19 memorial
Katherine Davis-Young/KJZZ
Arizonans gather to remember loved ones lost to COVID-19 at the Arizona Heritage Center on March 7, 2022.
“I have nothing but good memories,” he said.
Sam’s whole family caught COVID-19 as cases surged in January 2021. Sam works in a hospital, so he had been able to get vaccinated in the first phase of Arizona’s vaccine rollout. For him, the virus was mild. But Jennifer hadn’t been eligible for a vaccine yet. She died soon after contracting the illness, during what would turn out to be one of the deadliest weeks of the pandemic in Arizona.
“We were not able to visit while she was in the hospital until the last day when they told us she was not going to make it, then they did allow me and my son to come in,” Beeson said.
A little over a year later, Sam feels frustrated, wondering if the state could have done more to keep the virus from getting so out of control.
“The whole thing I think could have been done better if we had listened to the scientists, listened to the doctors, and just quit believing in all of the nonsense and conspiracy theories that surround this disease,” he said.
covid death rates
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Arizona's COVID-19 death rate is second-highest among states, according to the CDC.
Two years since the start of the pandemic, nearly 28,000 Arizonans have died from COVID-19. That's at least one death for every 263 people in the state. According to the CDC, that’s the second-highest death rate of any state, behind Mississippi. Some say those numbers point to policy failures.
Leaders at the Arizona Department of Health Services say it’s not that simple.
“Tragically, many, many Arizonans have died from COVID-19, but we’re not at a point where we can make comparisons yet,” said Jessica Rigler, assistant director for the division of public health preparedness with the department.
Rigler noted each state is tracking COVID-19 data differently.
“Their timeframes for reviewing deaths may be different, some may be reporting out deaths exclusively based on what’s on the death certificate, while others are using a wider surveillance definition,” Rigler said.
She said it will take more time before we know how Arizona really compares to other states and why some states have seen more death than others.
But it’s not just the death rate that suggests Arizona has been harder hit, according to Will Humble, former director of the state health department and current executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association. A November report from his association found Arizona is also the only state where COVID-19 became the leading cause of death during the pandemic. Humble and his colleagues have also reported that Arizona saw the highest increase in overall rates of death for any cause in 2021.
secureservercdn.net/166.62.110.60/p7p.8e2.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/AzPHA-Data-Brief-COVID-vs-Heart-Disease-and-Cancer-50-States-nov-3.pdf
secureservercdn.net/166.62.110.60/p7p.8e2.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/AzPHA-Upate-All-Cause-Mortaily-in-Arizona-12-16-21-Final-Final.pdf
“Those paint a picture of a state that performed quite poorly,” Humble said.
And Humble and others say it's not too soon to begin draw some conclusions about why that may be.
covid death trends
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Arizona has had a higher than average death rate since early in the pandemic, but the state only rose to the second-highest position in the CDC’s ranking after COVID-19 vaccines became available.
Dr. Joe Gerald, with the Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona, said there were social and demographic factors that put Arizona in a more difficult position when the pandemic began. Arizona’s median household income is lower than that of other states, which public health experts say often correlates with poorer health outcomes. Arizona also has a higher rate of residents without health insurance than most other states. And Gerald noted Arizona has a high number of people working in frontline professions that would have put them at high risk for exposure to the virus.
www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/beyond-health-care-the-role-of-social-determinants-in-promoting-health-and-health-equity/
www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/health-insurance-coverage-of-the-total-population-cps/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Uninsured%22,%22sort%22:%22desc%22%7D
“You add all of those things together in a stew, and you find yourself as one of the worst places in the U.S. for COVID burden,” Gerald said.
covid vaccinations
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Arizona's COVID-19 vaccination rate is below the U.S. average and a fewer eligible people in Arizona have had booster doses than in most other states.
But Gerald said policy decisions certainly played a role too.
“We’ve essentially let COVID rip,” Gerald said.
Arizona never had a statewide mask mandate, and cases were already spreading out of control by the time Gov. Doug Ducey allowed cities and counties to begin requiring masks in summer 2020. The governor and then health department director, Dr. Cara Christ, had also scrapped most restrictions for Arizona businesses by the time the state’s second major wave hit that winter.
kjzz.org/content/1644736/covid-19-cases-soar-arizona-scraps-its-own-business-closure-benchmarks
Humble said those were mistakes that cost lives.
“It wasn’t bad luck,” Humble said. “It was a choice that was made by Gov. Ducey and former director Christ not to do any enforcement of mitigation in those closed, indoor environments that, by then, we knew were the dominant place that this virus amplified.”
Arizona has had a higher than average death rate since early in the pandemic, but the state only rose to the second-highest position in the CDC’s ranking after COVID-19 vaccines became available.
Arizona’s COVID-19 vaccination rate and booster uptake rate are below national averages, according to the CDC. Humble said evidence overwhelmingly suggests Arizona wouldn’t have lost so many lives in the recent delta and omicron waves of the pandemic if those rates had been higher.
covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-total-admin-rate-total
Gov. Ducey has made clear he doesn’t support vaccine requirements for workplaces or schools. But Humble said the governor could have asked restaurants or music venues to require proof of vaccination for entry, as other states have done, to help incentivize vaccinations without requiring them.
covid-19 memorial
Katherine Davis-Young/KJZZ
A floral arrangement honors lives lost to COVID-19 at a memorial event in Tempe on March 7, 2022.
“Not only was [Ducey] completely hostile to sticks, he was hostile to carrots,” Humble said.
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
The omicron surge is now receding. In Arizona and nationwide, restrictions are being lifted as city and state leaders signal they are ready to move on from the pandemic.
But many people, like Sam Beeson, can't move on. These questions about pandemic outcomes are important, he said, because he doesn’t want COVID-19 victims like Jennifer to be forgotten.
“I’m just one guy, there’s so many people who have lost so much,” Beeson said. “I think everyone who died of this disease deserves to be remembered, because they were important to somebody.”
|
|
