News & Events

 Monday, Dec. 17, 2012

By Danielle Verbrigghe
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The percentage of Arizona parents citing personal beliefs in opting out of vaccines required for children has increased steadily since 2000 yet remains relatively low overall: 3.4 percent among kindergartners during the 2011-2012 school year, for example.

But Will Humble, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, looks with worry at other numbers detailing immunizations against diseases such as measles, mumps, whooping cough and chickenpox. Those are ZIP codes around the state with much higher percentages of parents opting out.

In schools and com...continued

By Betsy Shaw

posted: October 24, 2012, 12:48 pm
in: Baby, Pregnant, Health & Safety, News, Mom Stories
 

There’s no pertussis, a fancy name for whooping cough, vaccine that’s safe for newborns so prevention in baby’s first months is crucial.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) announced its recommendation today that all pregnant women receive the TDaP vaccine to protect themselves, and, most importantly, their babies against pertusiss.

According to this CBS report, a total of 32,000 cases of whooping cough have been reported this year and 16 people have died from it. These kind of numbers haven’t been seen,...continued

  Teen’s death shows how flu can kill in a flash   Below:    Discuss   x Next story in Cold and fluCDC: New flu strain can spread at state fairs  Related 5.5K   courtesy Booth family Austin Booth, who died of influenza at age 17, was a healthy basketball player, his family says. By Maggie FoxNBC News updated 10/18/2012 3:03:20 PM ET Print Font:     Austin...continued

  Flu season starts with message to get vaccinated     Flu vaccine

Arizona Department of Health Services Chief Medical Officer Cara Christ receives her flu vaccine Wednesday during a clinic for state workers at the Capitol in Phoenix. (submitted)   Posted: Thursday, October 11, 2012 6:00 am | Updated: 9:36 am, Fri Oct 12, 2012. By Michelle Reese, Tribune | 0 comments

The Arizona Department of Health Services marked the start of a new flu season Wednesday with shots available at the Capitol to state employees.

...continued

  STAR SPECIAL REPORT: HEALTH-CARE WORKERS AMONG THOSE LACKING BOOSTER SHOTS Adults need vaccinations, too - but few get them August 12, 2012 12:00 am  •  Stephanie Innes Arizona Daily Star


Most adults in Arizona and the U.S. have not been vaccinated against a vicious disease they can pass to infants too young to be immunized.


Whooping cough is highly contagious and can cause brain damage or kill otherwise healthy babies.


One infant has died of whooping cough, formally called pertussis, in Arizona this year. The average since 2007 has been about one per year, but cases are on...continued

July 23, 2012

 

Subject: Confirmed Measles Case in Coconino County
 

A confirmed case of measles has been identified in a Flagstaff resident in Coconino County. The case is an unvaccinated child. On July 8th the child presented to a healthcare facility with fever, cough, coryza, conjunctivitis, rash, Koplik spots and photophobia. On July 11th, the child then reported to a local pediatric clinic for measles testing. The specimen came back positive for measles IgM on July 17th. The case was confirmed by testing performed at Arizona State Public Health Laboratory. The child was likely contagious from July 4th through July 12th. The source of the infection in under...continued

Las On Wednesday, May 2nd, TAPI honored 61 individuals, organizations, and initiatives during the 16th Annual Big Shots Awards Dinner.  Read more about the dinner and view photos of the event here.

Posted: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 2:01 pm | Updated: 3:04 pm, Tue Apr 24, 2012. By Michelle Reese, Tribune | 0 comments

A Maricopa County child died recently from pertussis (whooping cough), the first recorded death from this disease in an infant since 2009.

The infant was too young to be vaccinated and more than likely contracted the disease from an adult, according to the Maricopa County Public Health department.

In 2011, nearly 700 cases of whooping cough were reported in Maricopa County, including dozens of infants. This is a 41 percent increase over the previous year and more than double the number of cases reported in 2009. ...continued

STC Proud to Announce the Arizona Immunization Information System Reaches 50,000,000 Vaccination Records Scientific Technologies Corporation celebrates the ADHS reaching 50,000,000 vaccination records in their Immunization Information System. STC designed and developed Arizona’s statewide immunization registry which began development in 1995. If you were to calculate the value of 50 million on-line immunization records...the use of this information by the Arizona clinical and public health community is...reducing the health and economic impact of VPD on residents and visitors. Tucson, AZ (PRWEB) April 25, 2012

At 4:09 AM on April 1...continued

Thank you to Andie Denious for her generous and thoughtful donation to TAPI in memory of Betsy Steele.

Right now, Arizona parents need only fill out a short form to exempt their child from the state's immunization requirements.
 

But there's a push under way to toughen state exemption laws. Doctors and state health experts say parents have an obligation not only to their children but to their community to help prevent the spread of serious diseases like mumps or measles, both of which have shown up in Arizona in recent years.
 

Toughening the laws, supporters say, would encourage more parents to vaccinate their children. Opponents say parents need the right to make their own decisions.
 

Arizona is one of 18 states that allow exempti...continued

Arizona parents who choose not to vaccinate their children are putting the whole community at risk, a state house committee here heard this morning.
 

“If most of us were not immunized it would be pandemonium,” Scottsdale pediatrician Dr. Arturo Gonzalez told the house health and human services committee. “Vaccines are the most effective medical intervention known to man in the in the eradication and prevention of disease.”
 

A growing number of parents around the state are electing not to vaccinate their children based on a “personal belief” exemption and in doing so they’re putting their children, other children and...continued

Two confirmed cases of mumps were identified last week in unimmunized children (siblings) in Maricopa County. Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) is currently investigating these cases and conducting enhanced surveillance.  The cases and unimmunized classmates have been excluded from school.

Mumps is a vaccine-preventable viral disease. The incubation period for mumps is about 14 to 18 days and is typically characterized by the swelling of one or more of the salivary glands, usually the parotid glands. About one third of infections do not cause clinically apparent salivary gland swelling or other symptoms.

Mumps vaccine can be given as measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) or measl...continued

During 2011, there was a 41% increase in the number of pertussis cases reported to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health compared with 2010. This represents a 132% increase in pertussis cases compared with 2009 and figures very close to the 2005 pertussis epidemic in Maricopa County. 

Pertussis should be suspected in all symptomatic infants, children, and adults regardless of immunization status. Fully immunized children can still develop pertussis and present with milder symptoms, as vaccine efficacy is not 100% and wanes with age.  In 76% of cases, infected adults or older children in the household are the source of infant pertussis.  Infants frequently become seriously ill with com...continued

A confirmed case of mumps in Gilbert has forced students who are not immunized with the MMR vaccine to stay out of school. Watch the news clip from abc15.com.

The Arizona Partnership for Immunization is seeking nominations for Big Shots for Arizona Awards and the Dr. Daniel T. Cloud Outstanding Practice Awards. 2012 marks the inaugural year of the Teen Award. Nomination forms are available at WhyImmunize.org. The deadline for all award categories is March 9, 2012 at 5:00pm. The winners will be honored at the 16th Annual Awards Dinner to be held May 2, 2012 at the Phoenix Country Club.