Updated Covid vaccine OK’d, experts urge people to roll up their sleeves
Federal officials Tuesday approved an updated Covid vaccine for use by anyone age 6 months or older, and health officials are urging people to get the shot amid a fall surge in cases.
Judge will let children sue on behalf of transgender people tied to birth certificates
A federal judge will allow several children to sue on behalf of all transgender people born in Arizona to force the state to change the gender on their birth certificates.
Grant addresses students’ mental health issues
Nikki Kontz, clinical director at Teen Lifeline, a crisis hotline and suicide prevention education provider, became a peer counselor after she lost a friend to suicide in high school. And 29 years later, as she oversees the program she started in, Kontz continues to emphasize the enduring importance of creating strong networks of support in schools, involving peers, teachers, counselors and admini[...]
Women can obtain birth control pills from pharmacist starting this week with some conditions
It's official: Women in Arizona can now walk into a pharmacy and get birth control pills. Ditto hormonal rings and patches.
Arizona Health Services: most pregnancy-related deaths preventable
Nearly half of Arizona’s pregnancy related deaths in 2022 were tied to mental health or substance use disorders, with 98% deemed preventable, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. And communities of color and rural communities see disparate effects and a lack of perinatal care.
A year later, uncertainty from Dobbs lingers over Arizona abortion care
The clinics are open, the law is clearer and the number of Arizona abortions is climbing back to levels of one year ago, before the Supreme Court up-ended 50 years of law and reversed the constitutional right to an abortion.
Panelists make outrageous claims in conservative Covid committee
Conservative lawmakers hosted a panel today with speakers who claim that the federal government intentionally lied and mishandled Covid, that hospitals intentionally killed people, and made statements that medical professionals say are untrue.
AZ makes significant strides in opioid crisis
More than five people in Arizona die each day from opioid overdose, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. To address the crisis, state administrators, behavioral health providers, prevention specialists, educators and researchers have made remarkable progress.
GOP Covid panel to hold people ‘accountable’
A new committee run by Republicans who are critical of how Covid was managed will convene this month and hold unspecified people “accountable” for their role in the pandemic, but members haven't said how that will be done.
Have health needs, will travel: ADHS delivers vaccines, tests to underserved communities
Even as Covid levels decline, the Arizona health department continues to deliver tests, vaccinations and other medical services to underserved, low-income communities across the state, according to health-equity officials.
Lawmakers frustrated over food bill veto, but will it lead to override?
Will Democrats in the Legislature vote to override a veto by a Democratic governor?
Cities, businesses, activists launch tree-planting measures, legislature slow to act
Arizona cities, environmental advocates and businesses are teaming up to combat extreme heat by launching a variety of tree-planting initiatives, while the state Legislature has been slow to act on this issue.