Friday, February 5, 2021
Henry Augustus Truhil was born at 8:44 a.m. after his mother, 33-year-old Nicole Truhill, experienced a headache, stiff neck and couldn’t keep food down, TMC said.
Upon evaluation, doctors at Canyon Vista Medical Center in Sierra Vista found Nicole suffered from placental abruption—a medical phenomenon that occurs when the placenta separates from the inner wall of the uterus before birth, which can deprive the baby of oxygen and nutrients while causing heavy bleeding in the mother.
Nicole was transferred to TMC in an emergency helicopter flight, while Henry’s father, Kyle Truhill, made the 78-mile drive.
Kyle arrived at TMC to find his wife prepped for an emergency C-section to deliver Henry only 25 weeks into her pregnancy. Doctors gave the baby a 50/50 chance of survival.
“When baby Henry was born, there was a tense stillness in the room until a tiny cry was let out, which provided Mom, Dad and hospital staff a small sense of relief,” TMC officials wrote in a press release.
The hospital said Henry has remained in stable condition this week and has received blood infusions to increase his oxygen levels. The baby has been breathing on his own, and Nicole is scheduled for discharge soon.
“I have never seen something so beautiful, small and fragile in my whole life,” Kyle said. “I felt overwhelmed with emotion in that moment…gratitude, a sense of miracle, relief and sheer terror all at the same time. I’ve never cried so much in my whole life as I have this week. We just want our baby to live.”
TMC said Henry has a long road to recovery ahead of him, but will ideally be released at the end of May or the beginning of June.
To support the astounding cost of the couple’s medical bills, Henry has a GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/f/help-micropreemie-henry.
Here, Henry’s progress will be documented and donations will be accepted to cover medical costs.
The 2021 Cologuard Classic is back at Omni Tucson National Resort last week of February, however, there will be no audience during the tournament’s scheduled events due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Tucson Conquistadores has confirmed they were unable to reach an agreement with the Pima County Health Department to allow spectators during this year’s Cologuard Classic despite offering numerous solutions to comply with social distancing measures, in an email by the organization’s staff.
“The Conquistadores have been working closely with Pima County officials to align COVID safety plans to allow limited spectators at this year’s tournament. Unfortunately, the tournament will go forward without spectators onsite,” according to the email.
Previously, the group’s chairman Dennis Caldwell said he thought the Conquistadores and local health department authorities were coming to an agreement and hoped to be able to announce the daily capacity during the tournament’s media day last month.
PHOENIX – Apprehensive Arizona parents of high school athletes can rest easier now.
Citing improving COVID-19 metrics, the Arizona Interscholastic Association executive board has amended its current attendance policy so that up to two parents or legal guardians of student-athletes can attend away games, the governing body announced via a release on Thursday afternoon.
Prior to Thursday’s announcement, parents and guardians could only attend home games of their children. The new rules will be in effect starting Feb. 8.
“It is at the discretion of the home school whether or not parent/legal guardian spectators are permitted,” the release said.
“Masks must be worn and social distancing requirements maintained.”
The news of the AIA’s decision comes after nearly a week of petitioning from local parents who believed their inability to attend games posed a safety hazard for their children. One Valley mother, Tiffany Hunt, organized this petition, which garnered nearly 4,000 signatures in a week.
With 3,826 new cases reported today, the total number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases surpassed 775,000 as of Friday, Feb. 5, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County, which reported 484 new cases today, has seen 103,932 of the state’s 775,622 confirmed cases.
With 196 new deaths reported today, a total number of 13,948 Arizonans have died after contracting COVID-19, including 1,899 deaths in Pima County, according to the Feb. 5 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide has declined in recent weeks, with 3,167 coronavirus patients in the hospital as of Feb. 4. That number peaked at 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 1,633 people visited emergency rooms on Feb. 4 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 909 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Feb. 4, 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.
State cuts Pima County vaccine allocation by 40 percent
The Arizona Department of Health Services told Pima County officials yesterday that the allocation of vaccine doses would be cut by 40 percent this week.
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court postponed upcoming hearings on two Trump administration immigration policies after both had been reversed on the first day of President Joe Biden’s term.
The court was scheduled to hear arguments in the coming weeks challenging then-President Donald Trump’s ability to divert Defense Department funds to border wall construction and on the administration’s Migration Protection Protocol. The so-called “remain in Mexico” policy required asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases were processed in the U.S.
But Biden halted border wall construction on Inauguration Day, and his acting Homeland Security secretary stopped the MPP a day later.
That would have left government lawyers in the position of defending policies the president opposed, leading Acting U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar to ask the court Monday to take the cases off the calendar for now as moot. The court did so without comment.
In a tweet, the American Civil Liberties Union said it was a “good sign that the Biden administration doesn’t want to see us in court to defend these illegal policies.” It went on to call on the president to “rescind the forced return to Mexico policy, give those subjected to it a fair and safe asylum process, and tear down the wall.”
The remain-in-Mexico policy was enacted in January 2019, reversing previous Obama administration guidance that let migrants enter the country and begin living in the U.S. while they were seeking asylum.
Thursday, February 4, 2021
Those over 70 can now begin registering for vaccine appointments that will start Monday, Feb. 8, the Pima County Health Department announced today.
While only the 75+ age group, protective service workers and educators were previously eligible, the health department is expanding its 1B priority group of vaccine recipients to include individuals over 70 after vaccinating more than 130,000 residents over the past six weeks, according to health department Director Dr. Theresa Cullen.
“The pace of appointments for educators and protective services has slowed as we think we’re nearing saturation of the people in those groups who want to be vaccinated, so we’re opening appointments to 70 and older,” Cullen said.
While Gov. Doug Ducey has included the 65+ population in Arizona’s 1B priority group, Pima County is further restricting the qualifying age group based on the likelihood of severe outcomes for older populations who contract COVID-19.
According to the health department, Pima County's population of those over 65 totals more than 212,000. Per the 2019 Census, the county has more than 54,400 residents between the ages of 70 and 74.
“We’re only opening vaccination to 70-plus because we still have a lot of 75+ people to vaccinate and we don’t want to overwhelm our registration system or create more demand than we have vaccine supply,” Cullen said.
Depending on vaccine supply, the health department said those over 65 may be eligible for vaccines in late February.According to Pima County Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francisco Garcia, the state reduced Pima County’s already constrained vaccine supply by more than 12,000 doses. The county received 29,000 vaccines this week and is set to receive 17,800 next week.
“Vaccine supply is the ultimate limiting factor in how many people we can get vaccinated and how quickly. We are wary of getting too far ahead of the available vaccine with our appointments,” Garcia said. “It’s hard to estimate how fast we can move to vaccinating 65 to 69 folks because the state’s system for vaccine distribution is opaque.”
The 70+ population, educators and protective service workers will now be able to register for vaccine appointments at the following locations:
Tucson Medical Center at 5301 E. Grant Road
Banner UA Cancer Center at 3838 N. Campbell Ave.
Banner UMC-South at the Kino Sports Complex at 2500 E. Ajo Way
Tucson Convention Center at 260 S. Church Ave.
While the health department is considering opening the University of Arizona vaccine site to more priority groups, it remains restricted to educators only.
Those who currently qualify in Pima County’s 1B priority group of eligible vaccine recipients of can register for a vaccine at pima.gov/covid19vaccineregistration or by calling 520-222-0119.
While vaccinations at the Tucson Convention Center were previously targeted toward protective service workers and educators, the Pima County Health Department is expanding vaccines at TCC to the 75+ population.
The health department said many educators and protective service workers are not choosing TCC to make vaccine appointments. While the site can handle up to 1,500 shots a day, only a few hundred daily appointments are being made.
To fill the empty time slots, Pima County and City of Tucson have contacted organizations employing priority 1B vaccine qualifiers—schools, law enforcement agencies, courts—to receive vaccines during the day’s unfilled appointment times.
The health department also announced they’re in the process of expanding TCC vaccine appointments to those older than 75. This population was originally restricted to vaccines at the Banner or Tucson Medical Center sites so that a medical setting would be nearby to aid in any complications with adverse reactions to the vaccine.
Statement about TCC vaccinations Pima County and the City of Tucson, Arizona continue to struggle through a scheduling...
Posted by Pima County Health Department on Thursday, February 4, 2021
“Since reactions have been extremely rare, PCHD has re-evaluated the hospital proximity requirement and is eliminating this appointment restriction and allowing 75+ people to schedule appointments at the TCC and possibly the UA,” the health department announced in a written statement, adding the University of Arizona site is still under consideration and remains reserved for educators.
The health department said there are occasionally leftover doses at the TCC POD, and some people 65 and older received the doses to prevent them from going to waste.
“To prevent wasting those doses, TCC has been vaccinating people who had learned from Social Media that they could hang around the TCC late in the day and they might be able get vaccinated,” the department said.
While speculation has circulated on social media that the 65+ population is now eligible for the vaccine, the county health department emphasizes this is false.
“We’re sorry for the confusion about who can get vaccinated at the TCC, however the ultimate goal of the county is to get as many people vaccinated in the current priority groups as fast as possible so we can move on to the next priority group,” the health department said. “Making sure as many people as possible in the 1B priority groups could get shots at the TCC helps achieve that goal.”
On Thursday, however, Pima County said TCC’s “line has gotten so long” that it will allow those over 70 to receive vaccines, while those under 70 will be turned away.
Those who currently qualify in Pima County’s 1B priority group of eligible vaccine recipients of those over 75, educators and protective service workers can register for a vaccine at pima.gov/covid19vaccineregistration or by calling 520-222-0119.
WASHINGTON – Six Arizona mayors were among hundreds who urged Congress to pass a $1.9 trillion pandemic-relief bill that includes $350 billion in aid for state and local governments who say they are on the front lines of the crisis.
Republicans in the House and Senate have said they want to approve COVID-19 relief but pushed back against what Rep. David Schweikert, R-Fountain Hills, called the “stunning amounts of money” in the bill – including the money for local governments.
But Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega, one of 402 who signed on to the U.S. Conference of Mayors' letter last week, said the money is needed for cities and states who he called “the foot soldiers” of the fight against the pandemic.
“We are on the ground with all of the fallout and effects of the pandemic. Our number one role as a city is to be sure that there are no gaps in service,” Ortega said. Along with Ortega, mayors of Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma, Mesa and Glendale also signed the letter.
For the first time in 10 years, Marana has a new police chief.
Former Marana Police Chief Terry Rozema appointed Deputy Chief Reuben Nuñez to take over as chief after Rozema was appointed Marana Town Manager on Tuesday.
Rozema has been interim Town Manager since Jamsheed Mehta resigned in October. Nuñez took over as interim chief and has now been officially appointed to the position.
Nuñez worked for the Tucson Police Department for 27 years and was hired as the Marana's deputy chief in 2011, according to the Town of Marana.
In his tenure at the Marana Police Department, he worked in support services and the field services bureau.
Nuñez has a bachelor’s degree in justice system policy and planning from Northern Arizona University and graduated from the FBI National Academy session 260, the SMIP Police Executive Research Forum and Northwestern University’s Police Staff and Command.
