The Vaccines for Children (VFC) program has provided life-saving vaccines to children in Arizona for the past three decades. The VFC program provides vaccination for children who might not otherwise get vaccinated because of financial barriers. The program is grounded in essential partnerships with private healthcare providers, tribal communities, community health centers, and local public [...]
This week marks the annual International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW) and the 2023 theme is “Celebrate the Fundamentals of Infection Prevention.” The fundamentals of infection prevention may sound basic, but they are proven methods for preventing illness and death. These actions work and are appropriate for everyone from families at home to infection prevention professionals [...]
As mentioned last week and yesterday, with October here we have entered into respiratory illness season and it’s important to take precautions now to avoid serious illness. This week we are sharing a series of blogs on these illnesses, the precautions you can take now, how to find vaccines, and other vital information to help [...]
Pinal County recently recorded this season’s first pediatric influenza death in Arizona. This heartbreaking news is a reminder that children younger than 5 who get influenza are among those at increased risk of complications including pneumonia, worsening of chronic conditions, encephalopathy, and sinus and ear infections. Quite simply, influenza is an unpredictable virus that can [...]
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study has found that the Omicron booster provided significant additional protection against symptomatic COVID-19 illness in people who had received at least two doses of a previous COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC notes that COVID-19 spread has increased during the last two winters. And Arizona cases have increased [...]
For most people who get COVID-19, isolation, rest, and following a doctor's advice leads back to full health within a few weeks, especially if you were up-to-date on vaccination. If you can't shake fatigue a month or more later, however, chances are you're among the millions of Americans facing long COVID. Also referred to as [...]
Even with COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths declining in recent weeks, it's an inescapable fact that older individuals remain at greatest risk of severe outcomes should they be infected with the current Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants. In the past six months, 81% of Arizona's COVID-19 deaths have been among those 65 and older, while [...]
A new resource from ADHS aims to help everyone better understand the monkeypox outbreak affecting Arizona and other states. As of Aug. 6, Arizona had 118 reported cases of monkeypox, with most of those occurring in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. This rare viral infection, which had been rarely seen in people who hadn’t traveled [...]
The Omicron subvariant BA.5 accounts for a rapidly growing share of sequenced cases in Arizona — 53% during the week ending July 2 and likely even higher today. Evidence suggests that this version of the virus that causes COVID-19 is better at eluding immune protection offered by vaccination or previous infection. It’s understandable to be [...]
Since COVID-19 vaccines became available in late 2020, millions of Arizonans have gone to mass-vaccination sites, retail pharmacies, health care centers, doctors’ offices, and elsewhere to get lifesaving shots. Today, ADHS and partner agencies are providing even more widespread availability by making COVID-19 vaccines available in neighborhoods through trusted community partners. More than 100,000 doses [...]
