Children between six months and five years old are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines offered by Pfizer and Moderna. In Arizona, that's nearly 400,000 additional eligibilities.
According to the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), the vaccine was made available on Monday, June 20. To find locations where a child under 5...Arizona News
The current dominant strain of COVID-19 in the U.S. has spread faster than all of its Omicron predecessors and may potentially cause more serious illness due to a property that it shares with both the Omicron and Delta strains that other subvariants have not held in common. Also, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and...
COVID-19 is still present in Arizona and cases are rapidly rising while Governor Doug Ducey signs a number of anti-public health bills into law preventing any public COVID prevention policies from implementation.
The New York Times COVID Tracker reports that Arizona cases of COVID-19 are up 84% in the past two weeks and the Arizona...
On Monday, the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a Surgeon General's Advisory on the healthcare worker shortage plaguing our nation's medical infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the staffing crunch in hospitals, long-term care facilities and health systems leading to dire, unprecedented shortages across the U.S....
According to USA Today, The United States of America represented 16% of the world deaths, while only representing 4% of the world population. Of countries with at least 5 million cases, the US is third in deaths per 1000 at 303. "First" on the list is Brazil with 313 and next is Poland with 307. Canada had 105 deaths per thousand and...
With cases of COVID-19 back on the rise in Arizona and across the country, epidemiologists and experts are asking if yet another Omicron surge looms on the horizon.
In Arizona, nearly 5,500 new cases were recorded over the past week. There were 41 new deaths related to COVID-19 in Arizona, bringing the state total to 30,320. These...
A report last week from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) highlights the challenges healthcare workers (HCWs) faced during the pandemic, including exhaustion, burnout and trauma.
The report, Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Hospital and...
Arizona may still have a chance to extend the time frame of postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to one year after birth. The bill, SB 1272, passed the Arizona Senate and the House Health and Human Services Appropriations Committees with nearly unanimous support.
However, the bill has stalled while the Legislature negotiates the...
Throughout April, COVID-19 levels remained low but appear to be trending upward once again. The Food and Drug Administration has scheduled meetings on COVID-19 vaccinations for children 5-years and younger.
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 3,911 new cases of COVID-19 and 238 new deaths related to COVID-19 in Arizona...
Although day-to-day life in the U.S. has largely moved on from COVID-19, the Biden administration is continuing to pursue coordinated efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and urge Congress to increase funding for antiviral treatments and preparation for future surges.
In Arizona, there were 2,350 new cases of COVID-19 and 99 new...
As the percentage of the population that has been infected with COVID-19 clears the 50% threshold, researchers are making advancements on research into the elusive long-COVID, a condition related to infection with COVID-19 that continues well after initial infection and recovery.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)...
Last week, the Commonwealth Fund published the results of a survey on discrimination in healthcare which demonstrated that nearly one-quarter of Black and Hispanic seniors have personally experienced racial discrimination or unfair treatment due to race in healthcare settings or by healthcare professionals.
The Commonwealth Fund, a...
On Monday, the American Hospital Association (AHA) released a report on the new costs incurred on hospitals and health systems, including the effects of workforce shortages, the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic inflation. The report demonstrates a struggle within the American healthcare system to absorb rising costs, even with the relief...
Fallout from COVID-19 policies continue as hospitals nationwide struggle to maintain a workforce. Nurse and healthcare worker unions and advocacy organizations blame hospital policies and reduced pay for the worker shortages. OSHA moved to revoke Arizona's state plan after ongoing violations of federal policy to enforce worker...
The Arizona State Legislature is back to work this week following an extended period of budget negotiations. The theme of this legislative session overall has centered on education, and a number of healthcare bills that saw action this week have to do with education.
On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee weighed a potential...
The BA.2 variant, also known as the "stealth Omicron," is now the dominant coronavirus version in the U.S. and more than 60 other countries. This week, Philadelphia became the first major city in the U.S. to announce that it would return to mandating masks in public spaces due to the spread of BA.2. Meanwhile, Arizona, the Centers for...
On Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) filed the Fiscal Year 2023 Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Proposed Rule. The reimbursements include a 3.9% increase to industry reimbursements, but in aggregate the impact of payment policies would result in a decrease of $320 million in...
COVID-19 has fallen out of the national spotlight, as cases and death counts fall week-over-week. But there are still challenges present. The threat of the BA.2 variant that caused a post-Omicron resurgence in Europe demonstrated COVID-19 still requires vigilance, effort and funding to overcome.
In Arizona this week, there were 6,840...
Arizona is finally entering a reprieve from COVID-19. Hospital bed use due to COVID-19 is currently at its lowest level since the beginning of the pandemic and Governor Doug Ducey took the opportunity to end the COVID-19-related state of emergency. Unfortunately, COVID-related deaths still continue and as of March 30, the Arizona...
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its Fiscal Year 2023 Budget, which focuses on investments in public health, behavioral health, health disparities, child care and advancing research. Coupled with the HHS announcement, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also released the 2021-2030 National...
