COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in authorization of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines for infants and young children. 

The CDC approved Emergency Use Authorization for the vaccines as follows:  

Community levels reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now carry a recommendation of mask use in public indoor settings in Navajo and Apache counties. 

Based on the latest community levels for Maricopa, Pima, Coconino, Cochise, Gila, and Mohave counties, the CDC recommends talking to your health care provider if you are immunocompromised or high risk for severe disease to find out whether you need to wear a mask and take other precautions. 

Maricopa County is now in the “medium” community level of spread according to CDC, with a rolling average

Pima County vaccination sites have started offering a second COVID-19 booster shot for immunocompromised individuals and people 50 and older who received an initial booster dose at least four months ago.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its booster recommendations on March 29, 2022, to include those groups.

Coconino County Superintendent of Schools, Cheryl Mango-Paget, announced today kindergarten through 12th grade students and families impacted by COVID-19 can now request wraparound support services, such as groceries, lodging, and laundry.

In response to increasing demand for COVID-19 testing, Maricopa County has opened multiple community testing sites across the Valley in February including a new location at Ak-Chin Pavilion in partnership with City of Phoenix and staffed with resources through FEMA.

The drive-through COVID-19 testing site at the Pima Community College West Campus, 2202 W. Anklam Road, will be closed Wednesday, Feb. 2, due to a forecast of rain and wind.

The testing vendor, eTrueNorth, will notify individuals and reschedule appointments.

Additionally, hours will be adjusted on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4 for a later start due to expected freezing temperatures. The site will operate from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. those days.

Normal hours of operation, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., will resume on Saturday, Feb. 5.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given full approval to the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for use in those ages 18 and older. 

Moderna joins the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which the FDA gave full approval to last August for use in ages 16 and older. Ages 5 to 15 are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine under an FDA emergency use authorization. 

The drive-through COVID-19 testing site at the Pima Community College West Campus, 2202 W. Anklam Road, will be closed Friday, Jan. 28, due to expected strong winds.

The testing vendor, eTrueNorth, will notify individuals and reschedule appointments.

The Pima County Health Department and Paradigm Laboratories will begin free COVID-19 PCR testing Tuesday, Jan. 25, at the Kino Event Center, 2805 E. Ajo Way. The site will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

PCR tests are performed in the laboratory and identify fragments of  COVID-19. These tests are highly sensitive but do require laboratory processing. Patients typically receive results in 24 to 48 hours.