Throughout the pandemic, public health has recommended wearing masks to reduce COVID-19 spread. All types of recommended masks, when worn properly and consistently, protect you and the community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its guidance to note that some masks offer greater protection than others, with certified N95 and KN95 [...]
There’s an important addition in today’s update on COVID-19 outcomes by vaccination status: During November, unvaccinated people were 17.5 times more likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19 than the fully vaccinated. Hospitalization data provides a deeper look at the numbers in this twice-monthly report posted at the top of the ADHS COVID-19 Data Dashboard. Also [...]
With the Omicron variant spreading rapidly, Arizona has seen more COVID-19 cases in the past week than any other week of the pandemic. Alongside this increase, we’ve seen more people seeking care in hospital emergency rooms and more people seeking COVID-19 testing. Both of these are challenging in their own right. But one avoidable problem [...]
A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has important findings about COVID-19 breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated individuals: It’s extremely rare for a breakthrough case to lead to severe outcomes. When a severe outcome such as intensive care admission does occur from a breakthrough case, the individual is almost certain [...]
A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has 8.7 million reasons why it’s safe and smart to vaccinate kids ages 5 to 11 against COVID-19. Building on extensive trials that found no serious vaccination-related events, this study found serious adverse events extremely rare among children ages 5 to 11 who [...]
As is the case around the country, Arizona is seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases amid the spread of the extraordinarily contagious Omicron variant. The COVID-19 Cases by Day graph on the ADHS COVID-19 Dashboard shows a surge beginning two days after Christmas, with more than 7,000 cases and even 8,000-plus cases on days for [...]
If you are among the approximately 321,000 people in Arizona who received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, it’s natural to have questions about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “expressing a clinical preference” for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines over the one you received. The CDC notes that this preference for [...]
A year ago, the precautions so many Arizonans took against COVID-19 - staying indoors, avoiding large groups, and wearing masks - also helped protect against the flu. There were fewer flu cases in 2020 compared to 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many Arizonans have returned to their pre-pandemic routines, [...]
From the time most people were children, parents and teachers stressed the importance of washing our hands. In the nearly two years since COVID-19 appeared, health officials around the world have repeated the same good advice. As we recognize National Handwashing Awareness Week, with holiday gatherings underway and COVID-19 still very active in Arizona, removing [...]
I’m glad to see the ADHS data dashboard showing increased demand lately for COVID-19 booster shots and primary vaccinations. Federal officials and ADHS have advised repeatedly that vaccination is the best way to prepare for uncertainties posed by the Omicron variant, not to mention from COVID-19 in general. While there are news reports saying that [...]
