Arizona’s COVID-19 statistics continue to trend in a good direction. On Saturday, numbers showed less than 1,000 new cases and 68 confirmed deaths. The rate of transmission is the second-lowest in the country, which shows the disease is actively slowing.
Maricopa County Disease Control Director Doctor Rebecca Sunenshine says the positive-trending numbers show the interventions in place are working, but it’s still way too early to relax them.
“We attribute this peak to several interventions, including the mask requirement on June 20, and right around the same time the governor put in place closing bars and gyms and some other businesses," Sunenshine said. "We know that if we stop those interventions or relax social distancing or wearing masks that we could have an additional increase.”
Both Sunenshine and State Health Director Dr. Cara Christ recommend getting flu shots as soon as possible, so there aren’t two respiratory diseases spreading in the community at once. If a majority of the population is immunized against the flu, a major flu outbreak wouldn't overwhelm hospitals that might also be dealing with a major COVID-19 outbreak.
“That has been one of our concerns is having COVID on top of flu," Christ said. "So we know that Arizona’s flu season goes about October to May, with our hardest months usually being January to March. While it’s not 100% effective, it does significantly reduce hospitalization, complications, and bad outcomes.”
The flu shot costs, on average, between $30 and $40 without insurance.
