If you want to share tips or stories, please do. Entries should be in Word format and e-mailed to Ann Chihak Poff at achihakpoff@gmail.com. 

*Vaccination numbers/percentages are displayed by the county of vaccine administration. Vaccinations administered at State of Arizona vaccination sites (PODs) are included in the state totals but not the county totals. **The percent of people eligible dropped recently as that number now includes 5- to 11-year-olds. Information from Arizona Department of Health Services, updated as of Thursday, Nov. 11.

Quick links to local, state, national and international health agencies:

• Pima County Health Department
• Arizona Department of Health Services
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• World Health Organization

Links to ADHS Dashboard; Pima County links; Gov. Ducey's Executive Orders; and American Medical Association's Physician's Guide to COVID-19:

Arizona Department of Health Services Dashboard

Click here to access Arizona Department of Health Services Data Dashboard.

Pima County

Click here to access Pima County Combined COVID-19 Information and Resources. Click here to access the health department data dashboard. 

Executive Orders

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's Executive Orders can be found by clicking here. 

American Medical Association

American Medical Association's Physician's Guide to COVID-19 can be found by clicking here.

Supreme Court hints that it may allow a challenge
to the Texas abortion law

By Adam Liptak 
The New York Times

On Monday, Nov. 1, after almost three hours of lively arguments, a majority of the justices seemed inclined to allow abortion providers — but perhaps not the Biden administration — to pursue a challenge to a Texas law that has sharply curtailed abortions in the state.

That would represent an important shift from a 5-to-4 ruling in September that allowed the law to go into effect. Justices Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, who were in the majority in that ruling, asked questions suggesting that they thought the novel structure of the Texas law justified allowing the providers to challenge it.

Justice Kavanaugh said that might amount to closing a loophole. Justice Barrett said the law was structured to prevent the providers from presenting a “full constitutional defense.”

Such a decision would not conclude the case or address whether the law itself is constitutional. Instead, it would return the case to lower courts for further proceedings. It was, moreover, not clear whether the court would temporarily block the law while the case moved forward if it allowed either the providers or the administration to sue.

The law, which went into effect on Sept. 1, was drafted to evade review in federal court, a goal the state has so far achieved. The law, which bans most abortions after about six weeks and includes no exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, has caused clinics in the state to turn away many women seeking the procedure.

COVID-19 vaccine boosters mix and match:
What the evidence shows

Patients have more options than ever before to protect against COVID-19. Boosters are now available for the three COVID-19 vaccines, made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has given the green light for safely mixing and matching the shots.

COVID-19 vaccines continue to protect against severe disease, hospitalization and death, but studies show waning immunity over time, noted Sandra A. Fryhofer, MD, the AMA’s liaison to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and a member of ACIP’s COVID-19 Vaccine Workgroup.

With the Delta variant on the scene and concerns over new variants emerging, “it’s important to keep antibody levels high,” said Dr. Fryhofer, chair-elect of the AMA Board of Trustees. Mixing and matching boosters will increase options for physicians and patients and enhance vaccination programs, she added.

Early study results demonstrate that boosters work effectively against some of the stronger variants. Dr. Fryhofer drilled down on these findings and the safety of mixing and matching boosters in an episode of the “AMA COVID-19 Update.”

Click here to read the full story.

Arizona testing sites and numbers

Updated as of Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, all 15 Arizona counties have confirmed cases with a combined total of 1,202,091 cases across the state and 21,549 deaths and 8,477,365 vaccinations administered.* In Pima County: 149,143 cases 2,786 deaths and 1,359,945 vaccinations administered.* For up-to-date numbers, click here.

(According to the CDC as of Wednesday, Nov. 10, 80.4 percent of those 18 and older in Pima County had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 70.9 percent were fully vaccinated. In observance of Veteran's Day, the COVID Data Tracker did not update on Thursday, Nov. 11.)

Click here for vaccine finder locations.

Arizonans are able to access COVID-19 testing at more than 600 various sites throughout the state. Click here to find information on where to find the COVID-19 testing sites, hours of operation and information about pre-registration. If you have a testing site you would like to be included on this list, please use this form to provide information about your site.

*Vaccination numbers are displayed by the county of vaccine administration. Vaccinations administered at State of Arizona vaccination sites (PODs) are included in the state totals but not the county totals. 

Moderna booster reporting of administered
and wasted doses reminder

Reminders:

• Moderna booster doses are 0.25mL (half the dose size of a primary series dose)
• Moderna vials can only be punctured a maximum of 20 times
• Providers are responsible to keep track of the number of punctures for each vial
• Punctured Moderna vials can be used to administer both primary and booster doses
• Punctured Moderna vials must be used within 12 hours

Reporting administered doses

Electronic Reporters — Booster doses must be sent to ASIIS as half doses with a volume size of 0.25 in RXA-6 (numbers only, no units please). If reporting units, “mL” shall be entered in RXA-7. For additional assistance with HL7 reporting of COVID-19 doses please refer here.

Manual Reporters — Dose size can be indicated directly in the patient's record and must be entered as a half dose:

Reporting wastage for Moderna

The number of full doses administered (primary series) is listed across the top. The number of half doses administered (booster doses) is listed on the left side of the chart. Identify the appropriate line for each type of dose administered from a single vial. The intersection of those lines represents the number of doses wasted. If your intersection lands within the green field, no wastage occurred, and no wastage reporting is necessary. 

Pediatric Pfizer (ages 5-11) COVID-19 vaccines authorized

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Is this Pfizer vaccine the same one that’s given to adolescents and adults? 

Answer: No, while the active ingredients are the same between both products, there are different vials and different dose sizes. The pediatric Pfizer product will be in a vial with an orange cap and is approximately 1/3 of the dose ages 12+ receive. Please review the EUA here. 

Q: Where can I find available pediatric COVID-19 vaccines?

A: Please visit the ADHS Find Vaccine site here, which lists doctor's offices, local pharmacies, health care clinics and local health departments where the vaccine is available. 

Q: Where can I find updated resources on storage and handling and administration of the new pediatric Pfizer product?

A: Please refer to our COVID-19 Provider Resources Page for current resources and/or the CDC Interim Clinical Considerations. 

Q: How do I store the new pediatric COVID-19 product?

A: The orange cap pediatric Pfizer product can either be stored for six months in an ultra low temperature freezer from the date of manufacture (printed on the vial and box) or 10 weeks in the refrigerator. It can NOT be stored in a standard freezer.

Q: How do I determine the expiration date of the orange cap pediatric Pfizer product?

A: Calculate six months from the date of manufacture (printed on the vial and box) IF the product will be stored in an ultra low temperature freezer. If the product is being stored in a refrigerator, calculate 10 weeks from the date it is placed in the refrigerator. The QR code on the box will open the EUA if scanned.

Unvaccinated Tucson city employees could be fired
after Council mandates COVID shots

By Paul Ingram
TucsonSentinel.com

In a 4-3 vote, the Tucson City Council said Tuesday, Oct. 19 that city employees who are not vaccinated by Dec. 1 will face termination.

City Manager Michael Ortega recommended the move in a memo to the Mayor and Council, telling them that around 300 city employees had "chosen to be in non-compliance" with the city's vaccination mandate because they did not get a vaccination by Aug. 24, and were therefore subject to a five-day suspension.

Those city government workers who do not get their shots by the deadline will face a process over several days that could lead to their ultimate termination by Dec. 17, beginning with a notice of intent to terminate by Dec. 3 — two days after the deadline.

Before the City Council's meeting, the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted to require county employees who work with "vulnerable populations," including staff with the county jail and juvenile detention centers, to be vaccinated.

Click here to read the full story. 

Pfizer asks FDA to expand booster authorization

By Sharon LaFraniere
The New York Times

Pfizer and BioNTech asked federal regulators Tuesday, Nov. 9 to authorize their coronavirus booster shot for those 18 and older, a move that would likely make every adult in America eligible for an extra injection.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant the request, perhaps before Thanksgiving and well ahead of Christmas travel and gatherings. The prospect of all 181 million fully vaccinated adults in the nation having access to extra shots is a turnaround from two months ago, when an expert advisory committee to the FDA overwhelmingly recommended against Pfizer-BioNTech’s request to authorize boosters for all adult recipients of that vaccine.

President Biden initially wanted Americans to start receiving boosters in late September, but the beginning of the campaign was delayed after regulators insisted they needed more time to review safety and efficacy data. Some global public health experts said it would be better to focus on getting initial shots to poorer countries with low vaccination rates than to distribute extra shots here so soon.

For now, only those 65 and older, and adults who are at special risk because of medical conditions or where they work or live, can get booster injections if they initially got Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna’s vaccine. The FDA authorized boosters for all Johnson & Johnson recipients because that vaccine offers less protection. People are allowed to chose which of the three vaccines they want for their extra shot.

Nearly 25 million Americans have gotten boosters so far, including people with immune deficiencies who became eligible in August. That amounts to about 14 percent of people who have been fully vaccinated, a number that could rise sharply if all other adults become eligible for a Pfizer-BioNTech booster. While the eligibility categories are quite broad, at least 30 to 40 percent of vaccinated adults are still excluded, according to estimates.

Click here to read the full story.

FDA authorizes Moderna and J&J boosters
and allows mix-and-match booster strategy

By Noah Weiland and Sharon LaFraniere
The New York Times

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, Oct. 20 authorized booster shots for tens of millions of recipients of Moderna’s two-dose coronavirus vaccine and the roughly 15 million who got Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose shot, significantly expanding the nation’s campaign to bolster protection for vulnerable people.

The agency also updated its authorizations for all three vaccines — Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer-BioNTech — to allow medical providers to boost people with a different COVID-19 vaccine than the one they initially received, a strategy known as “mix and match.”

That update may dampen interest in Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine, which studies have found provides less protection than the other two. Providers will have the option of offering a Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech booster, which could trigger a more substantial jump in protective antibodies.

The regulators, who already authorized boosters for high-risk Pfizer-BioNTech recipients in September, did not recommend any one vaccine over another as a booster. They also remained silent on whether it would be preferable to stick with the same vaccine when possible.

Click here to read the full story. 

CDC recommends Moderna and J&J boosters
and also allows mix-and-match strategy

By Apoorva Mandavilli 
The New York Times

In a sweeping victory for the Biden administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, Oct. 21 endorsed booster shots of the Moderna and the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines for tens of millions of Americans.

The decision follows an agency endorsement in September of booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and opened the door for many Americans to seek out a booster shot as early as Friday, Oct. 22.

The coronavirus vaccines “are all highly effective in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death, even in the midst of the widely circulating Delta variant,” Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, director of the CDC, said in a statement.

Her approval of recommendations made by a scientific advisory committee brings the country closer to fulfilling President Biden’s promise in August to offer boosters to all adults. At the time this story was originally published, the pandemic is now retreating in most parts of the country, but there are still about 75,000 new cases every day, and about 1,500 COVID deaths.

Click here to read the full story. 

COVID cases rising faster in Arizona than in most states

COVID-19 cases in Arizona and Pima County have continued to break into an upward trend.

Average daily cases have risen faster in Arizona than the wide majority of states over the previous two weeks, ranking in the top seven states across the country. This is according to data compiled by the New York Times as of Nov. 5.

“This was unexpected,” said Dr. Joe Gerald, an associate professor with the University of Arizona’s College of Public Health. “Something happened in the second week of October to fundamentally change the balance of forces between accelerating transmission and stalling transmission.”

After cases spiked about 44 percent in Pima County the week of Oct. 17-23, they rose the next week again, this time by 4 percent to about 2,500 cases, according to data from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Cases have been rising in most Arizona counties, like Coconino County and Maricopa County. Statewide, cases rose 10 percent the week of Oct. 24-30 to around 18,400 cases. The week before they had risen 15 percent.

Dr. Gerald called this spike a temporary setback to the state’s underlying gradual improvement in the medium term.

“I think it’s temporary,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a fundamental dynamic change, but I don’t expect us to start improving quickly either. So we’re in this in-between zone where it could be worse, but it could be a lot better, too.”

Analysis finds COVID-19 was leading cause of death in Arizona

By Jerod Macdonald-Evoy
Arizona Mirror

A new report found that COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in Arizona during the pandemic, unlike in other similar states that had more aggressive mitigation measures.

More than 21,500 people have died from the virus since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. The report, by the Arizona Public Health Association, examined how those deaths compared to the 15 leading causes of death between March 17, 2020 — the date a state of emergency was declared because of COVID-19 — to Oct. 14, 2021. 

The report compared that to mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control’s Wonder Online Database in 2019, as detailed data for 2020 is still not available. The researchers noted that data for certain mortality rates have remained relatively constant over the past decade, the report states. 

Heart disease has long been the top cause of death for Arizonans, taking the lives of more than 12,500 Arizona residents in 2019, followed closely by cancer, which trailed heart disease by a mere 84 deaths. 

COVID-19 cases reached their first peak in Arizona on June 29, when 5,480 cases were reported. Just a few weeks later on, July 17, Arizona would report its single highest reported death count for the virus at the time: 107 deaths. 

As the summer months ended amid more mitigation measures implemented by Gov. Doug Ducey, cases fell and so did deaths. By October, cases began rising again, accelerating rapidly in November.

On Nov. 23, the state reported more than 6,000 cases, the most it had ever seen in a single day, and intensive care unit capacity was dwindling. The numbers then skyrocketed in December and early January, and the state repeatedly broke records for the number of confirmed cases and deaths.

According to the research by APHA, Arizona’s death rate is also much higher than some of its similarly sized states. 

Click here to read the full story. 

Arizona high court upholds ruling blocking school mask bans

The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday, Nov. 2 unanimously upheld a lower court judgment that found the Republican-controlled Legislature violated the state constitution by including new laws banning school mask mandates and a series of other measures in unrelated budget bills.

The swift ruling from the state's high court came less than two hours after the seven justices heard arguments in the state's appeal of a trial court judge's ruling. The justices had hammered Solicitor General Beau Roysden with questions about the Legislature's inclusion of policy as different as dog racing and secure ballot paper in one of the budget bills.

The state constitution says each bill must cover but one subject with each item properly connected to others. Separately, the titles of each bill must reflect the contents and give lawmakers and the public adequate notice of what's included.

The decision will have far-reaching ramifications for the Legislature. Republicans who control the Senate and House have worked around that requirement for years, slipping policy items into budget bills. This year, the Legislature was particularly aggressive and packed the 11 bills that make up the budget with a hodgepodge of conservative policy items, some of which had failed as standalone bills.

The court upheld a September ruling from Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper that blocked the school mask ban and a host of other provisions in the state budget package from taking effect. Cooper found that provisions in three budget bills — including the ban on school mask mandates — violated the title rule. She blocked those provisions while allowing the rest of the bills funding education, universities and health to take effect.

Click here to read the full story. Click here to read Mayor Regina Romero's statement above.

Federal judge denies Arizona's bid to block
Biden vaccine mandate for federal workers

By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services

A federal judge on Wednesday, Nov. 10 rejected a bid by Arizona’s attorney general to issue an immediate nationwide injunction blocking President Joe Biden from requiring federal workers and contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Liburdi in Phoenix said he was not buying arguments that it’s illegal for the president to impose such a mandate when he is not requiring the same of people entering the country illegally. There’s no legal comparison, he said.

Liburdi denied the request by Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich for a preliminary injunction after more than three hours of legal arguments.

He also suggested he was not convinced Biden’s directives force anyone to do anything or that, as Brnovich contends, anyone’s rights of “bodily integrity” were being violated.

Instead, the judge phrased the issue as a condition of employment for federal workers. They remain free to either get vaccinated or seek work elsewhere, Liburdi said.

Ditto, he said, of the requirement that new federal contracts include clauses requiring the employees of these entities also to be vaccinated. Liburdi said all that means is that the companies either comply or lose their contracts.

Click here to read the full story. 

Coronavirus in the United States

Coronavirus in the United States: The latest map and case count can be found by clicking here.  

U.S. mandates vaccines or tests for big companies by Jan. 4

By David Koenig
Associated Press

Tens of millions of Americans who work at companies with 100 or more employees will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4 or get tested for the virus weekly under government rules issued Thursday, Nov. 4.

The new requirements are the Biden administration’s boldest move yet to persuade reluctant Americans to finally get a vaccine that has been widely available for months — or face financial consequences. If successful, administration officials believe it will go a long way toward ending a pandemic that has killed more than 755,000 Americans.

First previewed by President Joe Biden in September, the requirements will apply to about 84 million workers at medium and large businesses, although it is not clear how many of those employees are unvaccinated.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations will force the companies to require that unvaccinated workers test negative for COVID-19 at least once a week and wear a mask while in the workplace.

OSHA left open the possibility of expanding the requirement to smaller businesses. It asked for public comment on whether employers with fewer than 100 employees could handle vaccination or testing programs.

This is a round up of COVID news,
which has occurred over the past month. 

Cheap antidepressant lowers risk of COVID hospitalization, large study finds

A large clinical trial has found that a common and inexpensive antidepressant lowered the odds that high-risk COVID-19 patients would be hospitalized. The results, published on Wednesday, Oct. 27, could open the door to new guidelines for the drug’s use both in the United States and globally.

The drug, fluvoxamine, has been safely prescribed for nearly 30 years as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder. But when the coronavirus started spreading, researchers were drawn to the medication because of its ability to reduce inflammation, potentially allowing it to quell the body’s overwhelming response to a coronavirus infection.

Several smaller studies of fluvoxamine earlier in the pandemic showed promising results, but none was as large or persuasive as the one published on Wednesday, Oct. 27 by a group of researchers in Canada, the United States and Brazil, outside scientists said. Among nearly 1,500 COVID patients in Brazil given either fluvoxamine or a placebo, the drug reduced the need for hospitalization or prolonged medical observation by one-third, the study found. It was published in The Lancet Global Health.

Click here to read the full story.

~The New York Times~

Coronavirus confirmed death toll hits 5 million

The coronavirus is responsible for more than 5 million confirmed deaths around the world as of Monday, Nov. 1, according to data from the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. Such a loss would wipe out almost the entire population of Melbourne, Australia, or most of the nation of Singapore.

Experts say that 5 million is an undercount. Many countries are unable to accurately record the number of people who have died from COVID-19, like India and African nations; experts have questioned the veracity of data from other countries, like Russia.

“All of these estimates still rely on data being available, or someone going and collecting it before antibodies and local memories wane,” said Adam Kucharski, an associate professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine who mathematically analyzes infectious disease outbreaks. “Globally, there will have been numerous local tragedies going unreported.”

The real number of people lost to COVID-19 could be underestimated by “a multiple of two to 10” in some nations, said Denis Nash, an epidemiologist at the City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy. Overall, he said, the true global toll could be as high as twice the reported figure.

Click here to read the full story.

~The New York Times~

Pfizer says COVID-19 pill cuts hospital, death risk by 90%

Pfizer Inc. said Friday, Nov. 5 that its experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 cut rates of hospitalization and death by nearly 90 percent in high-risk adults, as the drugmaker joined the race for an easy-to-use medication to treat the coronavirus.

Currently most COVID-19 treatments require an IV or injection. Competitor Merck’s COVID-19 pill is already under review at the Food and Drug Administration after showing strong initial results, and on Thursday, Nov. 4 the United Kingdom became the first country to OK it.

Pfizer said it will ask the FDA and international regulators to authorize its pill as soon as possible, after independent experts recommended halting the company’s study based on the strength of its results. Once Pfizer applies, the FDA could make a decision within weeks or months.

Since the beginning of the pandemic last year, researchers worldwide have been racing to find a pill to treat COVID-19 that can be taken at home to ease symptoms, speed recovery and keep people out of the hospital.

Click here to read the full story.

~Associated Press~

Moderna and U.S. at odds over vaccine patent rights

Moderna and the National Institutes of Health are in a bitter dispute over who deserves credit for inventing the central component of the company’s powerful coronavirus vaccine, a conflict that has broad implications for the vaccine’s long-term distribution and billions of dollars in future profits.

The vaccine grew out of a four-year collaboration between Moderna and the NIH, the government’s biomedical research agency — a partnership that was widely hailed when the shot was found to be highly effective. The government called it the “NIH-Moderna COVID-19 vaccine” at the time.

The agency says three scientists at its Vaccine Research Center — Dr. John R. Mascola, the center’s director; Dr. Barney S. Graham, who recently retired; and Dr. Kizzmekia S. Corbett, who is now at Harvard — worked with Moderna scientists to invent the process that prompts the vaccine to produce an immune response, and should be named on the “principal patent application.”

Moderna disagrees. In a July filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the company said it had “reached the good-faith determination that these individuals did not co-invent” the component in question. Its application for the patent, which has not yet been issued, names several of its own employees as the sole inventors.

The NIH had been in talks with Moderna for more than a year to try to resolve the dispute; the company’s July filing caught the agency by surprise, according to a government official familiar with the matter. It is unclear when the patent office will act, but its role is simply to determine whether a patent is warranted. If the two sides do not come to terms by the time a patent is issued, the government will have to decide whether to go to court — a battle that could be costly and messy.

Click here to read the full story.

~The New York Times~

Nearly a million kids ages 5-11 have had first COVID shot

Beloved stuffed animals in hand, they lined up at schools, pop-up clinics and children's hospitals to do something that little kids generally hate to do: get a shot. COVID vaccinations for 5- to 11-year-olds began in earnest late last week, ramping up over the weekend and early this week.

By the end of the day on Wednesday, Nov. 10, about 900,000 elementary school-age children had received their first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, a White House official shared with NPR.

That represents about 3 percent of children ages 5 to 11. About 700,000 more have appointments scheduled in the days ahead at pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens.

"This does not include appointments being made, for example, at places like pediatricians' offices, children hospitals and other sites," the official said.

Click here to read the full story.

~NPR~

Roll up your sleeves: Kids' turn arrives for COVID-19 shots

Hugs with friends. Birthday parties indoors. Pillow fights. School children who got their first COVID-19 shots Wednesday, Nov. 3 said these are the pleasures they look forward to as the U.S. enters a major new phase in fighting the pandemic.

Health officials hailed shots for kids aged 5 to 11 as a major breakthrough after more than 18 months of illness, hospitalizations, deaths and disrupted education.

Kid-sized doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine cleared two final hurdles Tuesday, Nov. 2 — a recommendation from CDC advisers, followed by a green light from Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Friday, Oct. 29 the Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use in children 5 to 11.

With the federal government promising enough vaccine to protect the nation’s 28 million kids in this age group, pediatricians’ offices and hospitals began inoculating children, with schools, pharmacies and other locations planning to follow suit.

Click here to read the full story. Click here for information below on how to get your 5- to 11-year-olds vaccinated. 

Medical Liability Library

MICA’s Risk Management Team is here to help you minimize and mitigate
Medical Professional Liability risk. 

Telehealth across state lines — What's allowed?

Jeanne Varner Powell, JD, Senior Risk Management Consultant at MICA, addresses this commonly asked questions and discusses solutions your practice can adopt to ensure compliance with federal and state regulations. 

Click here to read the full article. 

Click here to access MICA's library. 

Senior Risk Management Consultants are ready to help with questions and provide more information. You can reach a Consultant Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. MST at (800) 352-0402  Ext. 2137, (602) 808-2137, or rm_info@mica-insurance.com.

Mutual Insurance Company of Arizona (MICA) is a Friends of the Society member.

Standing vaccination PODs

COVID-19 vaccine eligibility available to those 5 and older. (Pfizer is for ages 5 and older. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are for those 18 and older. All three vaccines are available as a booster. Click here for more information on boosters.)

While there are no more restrictions on eligibility other than age, only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for 5 and older. Pfizer is available at county health clinics, mobile vaccination clinics, at local pharmacies and pediatricians' offices. Click here for more information on the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine. FAQs for Pfizer vaccine for ages 5 to 11. Minors must be accompanied by a parent/guardian who can provide consent to administer the vaccine. 

Pediatric vaccination locations

The above pediatric providers are offering vaccination for children 5 to 11 years old, including those who are not their patients. Please call for availability, hours of operation and to make an appointment.

All the standing vaccination county PODS and many of the county mobile vaccination clinics are providing vaccines for 5- to 11-year-olds. Pharmacies are also offering COVID vaccines for ages 5 to 11.

Free COVID testing

Pima County Health Department has changed its criteria for free COVID-19 testing. Because of high demand for COVID-19 testing, University of Arizona students and employees are encouraged to schedule their free test through the University’s testing program.

Click here for a list of testing centers and hours and more information.

Pima County says nearly 2,000 unvaccinated employees
face termination

Nearly 2,000 county employees who work with vulnerable populations must get vaccinated by Jan. 1 or face termination, the Pima County Board of Supervisors decided in a 4-1 vote on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

The board approved a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees working with vulnerable populations on Oct. 19, but didn’t specify which employees would be required to adhere to the policy.

The latest vaccination numbers show 82 percent of 6,305 active county employees confirmed their vaccination status as of Monday, Nov. 1. The sheriff’s department continues to have the lowest vaccination rate at 62 percent while 10 departments are fully vaccinated, according to the county.

Now, 1,912 employees the county determined work with vulnerable populations who remain unvaccinated by Jan. 1 are subject to “disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment,” but the logistics of that enforcement mechanism hasn’t been specified, and it’s not clear how many of those employees are already vaccinated.

Chief Deputy County Administrator Jan Lesher, who is filling in for County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry as he recovers from a bicycle accident, said the board can give direction to outline a disciplinary process in the future that may include implementing suspensions before terminations, following a similar route the City of Tucson has taken for its vaccine mandate. 

But some employees who fall under the Pima County Merit System may have progressive disciplinary action that precedes suspensions and terminations with letters of reprimand, according to an Oct. 21 memo from Huckelberry.

Click here to read the full story. 

Dr. Theresa Cullen named College of Medicine – Tucson
2021 Alumni of the Year

For Theresa Cullen, MD, MS, the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson’s 2021 Alumni of the Year, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a trial by fire.

A 1983 graduate of the college, she was among those recognized Thursday, Nov. 4, 2-5 p.m., during the UA’s 2021 Alumni of the Year Awards Ceremony at the Student Union Memorial Center’s Grand Ballroom. 

Dr. Cullen was appointed Pima County Health Director in April 2020 after a successful 27-year U.S. government career in public health and medical informatics. She landed right in the thick of the county’s, the state’s, the nation’s and the world’s efforts to understand and rein in the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Still, she’s seen similar if not quite as global challenges.

Click here to read the full story.

UA, other state universities to require employees
show proof of vaccination by Dec. 8

By Kathryn Palmer
Arizona Daily Star

The University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University will require all employees to show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 by Dec. 8, unless they have been granted a religious exemption or accommodations for a disability.

The move, announced Friday, Oct. 15, came soon after President Joe Biden issued an executive order requiring a vaccine mandate for federal employees, including institutions that contract with the federal government, like the UA and Arizona’s two other major universities. The Safer Federal Workforce Task Force has told these institutions to make sure their employees are fully vaccinated by Dec. 8.

“The University has hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts, funding critical research, employment, and educational efforts, and already has received amended federal contracts that include this requirement,” UA President Dr. Robert Robbins said in a letter sent to employees Friday (Oct. 15) morning via e-mail. “While we respect individual opinions regarding the vaccine, we will continue with these mission-critical endeavors and will be complying with this new requirement.”

It’s unclear what will happen to employees who fail to comply as the federal guidelines are unclear. The university is waiting on guidance and working with its human resources department on disciplinary responses.

The UA has about 16,000 employees who are now required to get vaccinated, and that includes student and graduate workers. As of Oct. 15, 51 percent of those people have voluntarily uploaded proof of vaccination.

Click here to read the full story.

UA researchers seek large, diverse pool for massive aging study

By Kathryn Palmer
Arizona Daily Star

Studies focusing on specific degenerative diseases associated with aging are increasingly well-funded and widespread. But that’s not the purpose of the newly launched Precision Aging Network, a collaborative research endeavor funded by a $60 million grant from the National Institutes of Health that researchers at the University of Arizona will create and lead.

Instead, the leaders of PAN will focus on examining a massive and diverse sample of less-understood normative aging brains over the next five years, with the hope of being able to develop targeted and individualized treatment plans. They expect the whole operation to be up and running by January 2022.

Click here to read the full story.

Unvaccinated 'very likely' to get COVID, UA health official says

Associate Professor Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD, joined the University of Arizona status update on Monday, Oct. 18, to highlight new vaccine research and discuss the controversial debate over booster shots.

Before the Delta variant mutated from the original COVID-19, the coronavirus mRNA Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had extremely high efficacy. Bhattacharya said the vaccines made people 20 times less likely to get infected than unvaccinated individuals. Delta lowered vaccine efficacy to where vaccinated individuals are now two to five times less likely to get COVID.

According to Bhattacharya, this is because of the Delta’s high transmissibility. The Delta variant is two to three times more transmissible than the original virus. Bhattacharya warned Delta has completely changed the game for the unvaccinated.

“A year ago you might imagine that there were some scenarios if you’re careful, if you mask, if you stay away from other people, you might be able to avoid the virus even if you hadn’t been vaccinated,” said Bhattacharya. “I don’t think with the transmissibility of Delta as it is right now that is very likely, eventually, the virus will get you if you are not vaccinated.”

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WHO authorizes Indian-made COVID vaccine, months into use

By Aniruddha Ghosal and Maria Cheng
Associated Press

The World Health Organization granted an emergency use license Wednesday, Nov. 3 to a coronavirus vaccine developed in India, offering reassurance for a shot the country’s regulators allowed long before advanced safety and efficacy testing was completed.

The U.N. health agency said in a statement that it had authorized Covaxin, made by India’s Bharat Biotech. The action makes Covaxin the eighth COVID-19 vaccine to receive WHO’s green light.

“This emergency use listing expands the availability of vaccines, the most effective medical tools we have to end the pandemic,” said Dr. Mariângela Simão, WHO’s assistant director general for access to medicines and health products.

Covaxin was developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research, the government’s apex research body. The vaccine is made using a killed coronavirus to prompt an immune response and is given in two doses.

WHO said the vaccine was found to be about 78 percent effective in preventing severe COVID-19 and was “extremely suitable” for poor countries because of its much easier storage requirements.

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Reuben Wagelie 1934-2021

Reuben Wagelie, MD, founder of Allergy & Asthma Associates, died Sep. 27 from complications from a fall. He was 87.

He was born in Cavite City, Philippines, on Sep. 9, 1934. Dr. Wagelie’s family house was taken over by Japanese officials during World War II. After the war, he started taking combined courses in undergraduate and medical studies at the University of the Philippines and graduated from medical school in 1956. He interned and completed a residency in pediatric allergy medicine at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago in 1961. He remained in pediatric allergy medicine by earning a fellowship at Baylor University College of Medicine with the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston in 1962.

He joined the Pima County Medical Society in 1971 and was an active member until 2018. He was an Associate member during his retirement.

Dr. Wagelie started in private practice in Beloit, Wisconsin from 1965-1969. He served in the U.S. Army from 1969-1971 and was stationed at Fort Huachuca. After returning to the Philippines for one year, he came back to Southern Arizona in 1971. He established Allergy & Asthma Associates in 1982 and served patients in Safford, Nogales, Douglas and Sierra Vista for several years. Amy Wagelie-Steffen, MD, his daughter and PCMS member, is the current president and medical director of the clinic.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Sandi Wagelie, five daughters, four sons-in-law, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. There will be no public services.

Treating Opioid Use Disorder in the Emergency Department for FREE CME/CEU (applied for)

Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021

Noon-1 p.m. (Arizona Time)

Hosted virtually via Zoom

This webinar will be presented by Dr. Melody Glenn. The webinar is open to anyone in Arizona. We are specifically looking for people who work in emergency, primary and behavioral health care in Gila, Graham and Mohave counties. We applied for one CME/CEU (nurses/social workers). If approved, this CME/CEU would be free to you.

Topics covered include the following:

• Regulation around medications for addiction treatment (MAT) in the emergency department (ED) and hospital
• Algorithm for starting MAT and understand its supporting research
• Operational solutions to challenges around continuity of care
• Tools to implement harm reduction strategies such as naloxone distribution

Click here for more information and to register.

For a listing of education opportunities, visit Pima County Medical Society's CME page by clicking here or Programs/Events page by clicking here.