COVID-19 Leading Cause of Death in Arizona in 2019

 


A report by the Arizona Public Health Association (AZPHA) says that COVID-19 was the leading cause of death in State 48 in 2019. Moreover, Arizona was the only state in the Union with that distinction. 

Data are from 2019 because CDC has not yet released general deaths data for 2020. That COVID-19 was the leading cause is 2019 is saying something, too, because the pandemic wasn't even in full-swing by the end of that year. I fully expect the same to hold true for 2020.

What is responsible for this? Well one thing has to be the large elderly population in the state. People over 65 were the main victims and casualties of the disease before vaccines were available.

But AZPHA Director Will Humble also lays blame at the feet of our governor and his public health department. Commenting on an earlier report comparing Arizona with Colorado and Washington—which have similar population numbers but more cautious approaches to the pandemic—he said:

The governor not only did not include a face covering mandate. He also prohibited local jurisdictions from doing that. As a result we see the vast differences in deaths between similar states, Washington, Colorado and Arizona. Our governor and our health director have been unwilling to use those simple tools in their tool chests: universal masking, better interventions at bars, restaurants and nightclubs, etc. And as a result, COVID-19 is the leading cause of death in Arizona.

Image by Corona-zona

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