Most Arizona Counties Have Leveled-Up on COVID-19

 

Yesterday, AzDHS released a blog post noting that most counties in Arizona are now above the CDC's "low" level.  They show a tiny map so I got a better one from the CDC:


The six counties at the medium (yellow) level—Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Maricopa, Mohave, Pima—include the state's largest and comprise 85% of the population. The only difference between the low (green) and medium levels is a recommendation that "if you are at high risk for severe illness, talk to your healthcare provider about whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions."

Two counties—Apache and Navajo—are at the high level. At that level CDC recommends wearing a mask indoors in public. 

Indian communities have been hit hard in the pandemic, but they have achieved much higher vaccination rates. A few months ago I blogged about how out of 15 counties in the state Apache County is number one (95% vaccinated), Navajo County is number four (75.3%), and Maricopa County comes in as part of the bottom third (55.8%, 10th place). 

In the same post I showed how, unfortunately, this has not resulted in lower death rates than Maricopa County. Maybe this time around will be different. 

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