End of COVID-19 Declaration of Emergency means changes for three dashboard entries
The end of the state’s COVID-19 Declaration of Emergency means changes to three entries on our weekly COVID-19 Data Dashboard that have relied on information reported by hospitals. Starting with this week’s update, the graphs under Hospital Bed Usage and Availability, Hospital COVID-19 Specific Metrics, and Ventilator Usage and Availability will no longer be updated. With the end of the [...]
National Public Health Week: Arizona State Hospital provides highest level of behavioral health care
For more than two years, Arizonans have associated ADHS most with the state’s COVID-19 response. That makes perfect sense, as the global pandemic has required an all-hands-on-deck approach. While that commitment is unchanged, we’d like to take time over the coming months, and starting with National Public Health Week, to highlight other things ADHS does to promote health and well-being [...]
National Public Health Week: Numbers only begin to tell the story of our COVID-19 response
It’s impossible to mark National Public Health Week without acknowledging the efforts of the ADHS staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past 27 months, hundreds of public health professionals across all ADHS programs have spent more than 250,000 hours supporting our health emergency operations center, our partners, and all of Arizona. Here are just some of the numbers that [...]
National Public Health Week: Supporting health equity, well-being in Arizona
The past two years have shown us that public health is critical. That’s one reason why we at ADHS are excited to mark National Public Health Week and to have Governor Doug Ducey commemorate this week by proclamation. Public health is more than a single topic; it’s countless issues and practices that help every American live healthy, long and productive [...]
Our work continues
Governor Ducey, at the recommendation of ADHS, has terminated the state’s COVID-19 Declaration of Emergency. His announcement makes clear, however, that public health’s response to COVID-19 will continue. Jessica Rigler, our assistant director for public health preparedness, put it this way during a recent ADHS virtual town hall on COVID-19 vaccines for children: “Public health continues whether or not we’re [...]
Latest data shows COVID-19 boosters continue making a big difference in Arizona
Following yesterday’s authorization of a second COVID-19 booster dose for ages 50 and older and those with weakened immune systems, new data shows just how much of a difference a booster dose makes. During February, compared to individuals who were fully vaccinated with a booster, unvaccinated people ages 18 and older had: 4.9 times the risk of testing positive for [...]