Thursday, February 18, 2021
County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry is asking the Pima County Board of Supervisors to suspend county-sponsored COVID-19 testing after notification that the state will not reimburse the county for most of its testing costs.
At a special board meeting Friday, Huckelberry said he'll ask the board to halt free coronavirus testing as of Feb. 22 to avoid incurring further deficit costs.
In a memo to the board, Huckelberry said the county reported to the state that $47.75 million was spent on PCR COVID-19 testing since April, with more than $10.68 million coming from county funds.
State officials said they could reimburse Pima County for only $1 million, according to an email from Eugene Livar, the chief of the epidemiology and disease control bureau at the Arizona Department of Health Services.
When the state submits its budget for federal approval in mid-March, Livar said ADHS can “reassess the funding available to support Pima County's testing needs,” but they likely won’t be able to “support the entirety of the $40,274,448 need but will likely be able to provide some level of support.”
While initially running the county’s testing operations under the assumption they would be partially covered by the $416 million provided to Arizona for testing through the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, Huckelberry wrote in the memo that the federal funds are “being used by the State for other purposes,” adding, “It appears the uses for which the State will be using these funds is for everything but COVID-19 testing.”
Pima County currently has several sites offering free COVID-19 testing through partnerships with Arizona State University, the City of Tucson, Accu Reference Labs and Paradigm Labs.
If the Board of Supervisors approves the motion Friday, the free testing will cease across the county.
“This is unfortunate as it was abundantly clear to Pima County that the State allocation was for COVID-19 testing,” Huckelberry wrote in the memo. “At least that was the impression we were left with in reviewing the Federal 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act.”
With 1,143 new cases reported today, the total number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 802,000 as of Thursday, Feb. 18, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County, which reported 181 new cases today, has seen 107,582 of the state’s 802,198 confirmed cases.
With 213 new deaths reported today, a total of 15,276 Arizonans have died after contracting COVID-19, including 2,119 deaths in Pima County, according to the Feb. 18 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide has declined in recent weeks, with 1,823 coronavirus patients in the hospital as of Feb. 17. That’s fewer than half the number hospitalized at the peak of the winter surge, which reached 5,082 on Jan. 11. The summer peak was 3,517, which was set on July 13, 2020. The subsequent lowest number of hospitalized COVID patients was 468, set on Sept. 27, 2020.
A total of 1,272 people visited emergency rooms on Feb. 17 with COVID symptoms, down from the record high of 2,341 set on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. That number had peaked during the summer wave at 2,008 on July 7, 2020; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28, 2020.
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Working directly with the State Department of Health, bypassing Pima County Health officials, the UA plans to open a state vaccine Point of Distribution (POD) on the UA mall. This will be detrimental to the county efforts to get vaccines into the arms of the most vulnerable in our community.
Since the pandemic began, UA leadership’s efforts to be ground zero for all-things-COVID have negatively impacted the surrounding community. They refused to mandate testing for off-campus students, falsely claiming a constitutional ban. The City and County funded the work. The UA invited students back into the region while the pandemic was surging. The result was the UA ZIP code becoming the countywide COVID hot spot. Now comes the UA sidestepping the regional health care authority and dealing directly with Gov. Ducey, establishing a campus vaccination POD. Vaccination doses going to the state POD will count against the county’s allotment.
This week the state has reduced the Pima County vaccine allotment by 40%. What the state takes for the UA POD, decreases the amount the county has to administer at other sites. A recent mobile vaccination site led by Pima County Health was conducted with the intent of addressing the disparity that exists in vaccine distribution. At that site, 72% of the vaccines given went to Hispanic residents. Hispanics constitute only 3.7% of people vaccinated at state-run POD’s.
The Pima County Health Department is the health authority for this region. The UA’s newest effort to gain attention, by becoming the local 24/7 state-run POD, will have a negative impact on the county efforts to vaccinate a diverse population. Including those unable to navigate the new state operated registration system. The vaccine supply is controlled by the state. The UA must not exploit its relationship as an arm of the state by effectively "skimming doses off the top" while the county continues operating in a position where demand is significantly outstripping its state allocation.
Steve Kozachik represents Ward 6 on the Tucson City Council.
Severe winter weather across the nation is causing delays to vaccine shipments and some appointments may be delayed as a result, said Dr. Marjorie Bessel, the top clinical leader of Arizona’s largest hospital system.
Of the 15 counties in Arizona, the delays are affecting Pima County the most. While Bessel said there’s enough vaccine for appointments at Banner Health locations for Wednesday and Thursday, appointments for Friday and during the weekend are at-risk without more supply.
“The severe weather that many parts of the country are currently experiencing is impacting vaccine supplies over the next several days. We continue to work with all of our different states and counties to load balance those vaccines and supplies to best meet the needs of communities,” Bessel said. “In Pima County is where we have the most significant impact regarding potential need for additional vaccine.”
Pima County announced Friday that its two Banner vaccination sites are consolidating their operations beginning March 4. The Banner North and Banner South sites will operate at the Kino Sports Complex. Banner North has stopped making new appointments.
Bessel said those with vaccine appointments at a Banner location could receive a text, email or phone call saying their vaccine time needs to be rescheduled.
She emphasized that Banner has no control over the arrival of the supplies as weather delays affect the delivery of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, as well as the needles and syringes needed to administer them.
While MHC Healthcare previously scheduled appointments for the 70+ population in the Marana and Oro Valley areas, all online registrations are now booked and the center is only supplying second doses for those who already received their first COVID-19 vaccine, according to Director of Marketing and Communications Kimberly Mayfield.
MHC has received 4,200 total doses and administered 3,823 as of Feb. 15. Of the delivered doses, 2,819 went to those 70 and older, while 1,004 went to MHC healthcare workers. The community health center is using the Moderna vaccine.
Last week, the county's vaccine supply was decreased to 17,850—a 40% reduction from the previous week. This week, the doses were cut down to 16,300 doses of Moderna.
The state is now taking control of all Pfizer allocations, and according to County Health Director Dr. Theresa Cullen, the county has no insight into what the Pfizer allotment for this week was.
In addition to the 16,300 Moderna and an unknown number of Pfizer doses to be distributed across the county’s vaccination centers, the state allocated the new UA state-run POD 2,000 doses of Moderna.
According to Pima County Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francisco Garcia, the significant decrease in the county’s vaccine allocation cut off additional vaccine supply to its community health centers.
“One of the things, for instance, that was impacted was none of our federally qualified health center partners, Marana, Desert Senita, United Community Health Center in the rural areas and El Rio in the central core—none of them got new vaccine for new vaccinations,” Garica said. “That was a trade-off that we had to make because of the reduction in the total number of vaccines that we were allowed to allocate.”
With 1,315 new cases reported today, the total number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 801,000 as of Wednesday, Feb. 17, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County, which reported 188 new cases today, has seen 107,401 of the state’s 801,055 confirmed cases.
A total of 15,063 Arizonans have died after contracting COVID-19, including 2,082 deaths in Pima County, according to the Feb. 17 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide has declined in recent weeks, with 1,941 coronavirus patients in the hospital as of Feb. 16. That’s fewer than half the number who were hospitalized at the peak of the winter surge, which reached 5,082 on Jan. 11. The summer peak was 3,517, which was set on July 13, 2020. The subsequent lowest number of hospitalized COVID patients was 468, set on Sept. 27, 2020.
A total of 1,272 people visited emergency rooms on Feb. 16 with COVID symptoms, down from the record high of 2,341 set on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. That number had peaked during the summer wave at 2,008 on July 7, 2020; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28, 2020.
A total of 593 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Feb. 15, down from a peak of 1,183 set on Jan. 11. The summer’s record number of patients in ICU beds was 970, set on July 13, 2020. The subsequent low was 114 on Sept. 22, 2020.
How to get a vaccine
Currently, Pima County is providing vaccination shots to people 70 and older as well as educators, first responders and healthcare workers, but that group will expand to anyone 65 and older tomorrow. Those who qualify in Pima County’s 1B priority group of eligible vaccine recipients can register for a vaccine at www.pima.gov/covid19vaccineregistration or by calling 520-222-0119.
A state-run vaccination site opening at the University of Arizona will begin appointments on Feb. 18. The new site will follow the state’s current vaccine eligibility, which includes those 65 and older, educators, childcare workers and protective service workers, according to Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ.
As the state-run POD, or point of distribution, registrations will go through ADHS’s website. Appointments will begin on Feb. 18, and registration will open at 9 a.m. on Feb 16. Online registration will be available at podvaccine.azdhs.gov, and those who need assistance can call 1-844-542-8201. More details here.
Pima County expanding eligibility for vaccine to 65+ tomorrow
Pima County residents ages 65 and over will be able to pre-register for COVID-19 vaccine appointments starting 9 a.m., Thursday, the Pima County Health Department announced Tuesday.
Pima County Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francisco Garcia said the announcement comes not because of increased vaccine availability, but to avoid confusion as the new state-run site at the University of Arizona provides vaccines to the 65+ population.
Garcia said the county health department was poised to make the decision to open vaccine appointments to the 65+ crowd next week, but accelerated the announcement so the county’s eligibility requirements will align with the state’s.
WASHINGTON – Health advocates welcomed the reopening of enrollment for Affordable Care Act coverage, saying the opportunity for more people to get or renew their health insurance could be “really good for Arizona.”
The normal period for Americans to sign up for coverage ended Dec. 15, but President Joe Biden called for this special 90-day open enrollment period in response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
The change could open the door to subsidized health insurance for thousands in Arizona, where as many as 900,000 people may not have health insurance, according to Dr. Dan Derksen, director of the University of Arizona Center for Rural Health. Derksen said as many as half of those people could get covered under the ACA.
“This extension of the open enrollment period Is a way that we can get more information out there so that people understand what they might be eligible for, and then get enrolled,” Derksen said Monday, the first day of open enrollment.
Matt Eyles, president and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans, praised the decision to reopen the enrollment period as a “timely and targeted” solution that is “exactly what Americans need.”
“Every American deserves access to affordable health coverage and high-quality care, and that is especially true during a pandemic,” Eyles said in a written statement. “We appreciate the Biden administration for providing this additional opportunity for hardworking American families to enroll in coverage for their health and financial security as they continue to fight to overcome the COVID-19 crisis.”
Tuesday, February 16, 2021
Pima County residents ages 65 and over will be able to pre-register for COVID-19 vaccine appointments starting 9 a.m., Thursday, the Pima County Health Department announced Tuesday.
Pima County Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francisco Garcia said the announcement comes not because of increased vaccine availability, but to avoid confusion as the new state-run site at the University of Arizona provides vaccines to the 65+ population.
Garcia said the county health department was poised to make the decision to open vaccine appointments to the 65+ crowd next week, but accelerated the announcement so the county’s eligibility requirements will align with the state’s.
“We know that this is a complicated message because, on the one hand, I'm telling you that vaccine supply is restricted. On the other hand, I'm telling you that more people are going to be eligible for that restricted vaccine supply,” Garcia said. “One of the things that we are really, really working hard to mitigate against is the fact that with the opening of the state POD here at the University of Arizona, I am worried that people will start to get confused. And so rather than have different age eligibilities at different locations, we want to have uniform age eligibility across Pima County, even even if it poses some challenges for us.”
Pima County’s vaccine allocation from the state has been cut again, making it even more difficult to reach the populations who need it most.
This week, the county's vaccine supply was decreased to 16,300 doses of Moderna, down from the 17,850 doses of Moderna and Pfizer allocated last week.
The state is now controlling all Pfizer allocations with little insight into how many will be distributed to vaccinators. Additionally, vaccines given to Pima County’s new state-run POD at the University of Arizona are coming off the top of the county’s total allocation.
According to a Feb. 12 memo from County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry, the UA POD will receive 2,000 Moderna vaccines this week.
The county’s vaccination network can supply 8,000 vaccines a day, but doses from the state have averaged 3,600 a day, Huckelberry said.
In order to carefully manage a constrained vaccine supply that will reach the most vulnerable populations first, the county has adopted a new tiered approach as part of its accelerated vaccination plan.
The six tiers outline the priority order for vaccine recipients. Tier one includes assisted living facilities that weren’t enrolled in the federal program administering vaccines through local pharmacies. As of Feb. 12, Huckelberry said 21 of 83 facilities not enrolled in the federal program have had their residents vaccinated by the county.
Tier two represents vulnerable populations in terms of their age, ethnicity and low income. According to Huckelberry’s memo, this includes “communities with the highest rate of COVID-19 infection and mortality, those who live in HUD housing, those who are disabled, and those who live in census tracts with a high social vulnerability.”
With 1,132 new cases reported today, the total number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases hovered just below 800,000 as of Tuesday, Feb. 16, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County, which reported 155 new cases today, has seen 107,213 of the state’s 799,740 confirmed cases.
A total of 14,981 Arizonans have died after contracting COVID-19, including 2,075 deaths in Pima County, according to the Feb. 16 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide has declined in recent weeks, with 2,047 coronavirus patients in the hospital as of Feb. 15. That’s fewer than half the number who were hospitalized at the peak of the winter surge, which reached 5,082 on Jan. 11. The summer peak was 3,517, which was set on July 13, 2020. The subsequent lowest number of hospitalized COVID patients was 468, set on Sept. 27, 2020.
A total of 1,175 people visited emergency rooms on Feb. 15 with COVID symptoms, down from the record high of 2,341 set on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. That number had peaked during the summer wave at 2,008 on July 7, 2020; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28, 2020.
A total of 601 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Feb. 15, down from a peak of 1,183 set on Jan. 11. The summer’s record number of patients in ICU beds was 970, set on July 13, 2020. The subsequent low was 114 on Sept. 22, 2020.
How to get a vaccine
Currently, Pima County is providing vaccination shots to people 70 and older as well as educators, first responders and healthcare workers. Those who currently qualify in Pima County’s 1B priority group of eligible vaccine recipients can register for a vaccine at www.pima.gov/covid19vaccineregistration or by calling 520-222-0119.
A state-run vaccination site opening at the University of Arizona will begin appointments on Feb. 18. The new site will follow the state’s current vaccine eligibility, which includes those 65 and older, educators, childcare workers and protective service workers, according to Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ.
As the state-run POD, or point of distribution, registrations will go through ADHS’s website. Appointments will begin on Feb. 18, and registration will open at 9 a.m. on Feb 16. Online registration will be available atpodvaccine.azdhs.gov, and those who need assistance can call 1-844-542-8201.
Limited supply forces reduction in vaccine appointments
Despite a widening population of eligible vaccine recipients and the addition of a state-run POD at the University of Arizona set to open on Thursday, Pima County’s vaccine allocation from the state has been cut yet again.
Two weeks ago, the county's vaccine supply was decreased to 17,850—a 40% deduction from the previous week. Last week, the doses were cut down by 9% for a total allotment of 16,300.
According to a memo from County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry, the truncated allocation has limited the county’s ability to give first-time doses—many for those 70 and older who became eligible last week—and delayed plans for vaccinations in vulnerable congregate settings.
