
Arizona Supreme Court to Hear Abortion Care Case Appeal
The Arizona Supreme Court has agreed to hear and decide which of Arizona’s conflicting statutes about abortion care are the law of the land. Arizona has at least 2 competing statutes in the books. A law from 1864 and recoded in 1901 says that abortion care is illegal unless the procedure is needed to save the life of the mother. ARS 13-3603. Definition; punishment A person who provides, supplies or

CDC MMWR Explains their Recommendation that Kids <8mos Entering RSV Season Get the New RSV Monoclonal Antibody Injection
New MMWR: Use of Nirsevimab for the Prevention of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Disease Among Infants and Young Children: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — United States, 2023 | MMWR Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of hospitalization among U.S. infants. In July 2023, the Food and Drug Administration approved nirsevimab, a long-acting monoclonal antibody, for passive immunization to prevent RSV-associated lower respiratory tract infection among

WIC in Jeopardy in AZ as Counties Consider Dropping the Program: Finances Making Running WIC Untenable
Congress Needs to Pass the Pass the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act (H.R.8450) Including Changes to TITLE III—Modernizing WIC Child Nutrition Reauthorization (including reauthorizing the WIC program) comes up for renewal every five years, but Congress hasn’t reauthorized or updated the provisions and funding in the Act since 2010. You heard that right. Congress hasn’t updated the statutes or funding in the WIC program since 2010 – thirteen years ago. The current law,

Influenza Vaccine Makeup for this Fall
Each spring in the Northern Hemisphere scientists get together and examine global surveillance data (from both hemispheres) and decide what strains should be included in the upcoming flu season’s vaccine. It’s important to get it right because how effective the vaccine ends up being depends on whether it correctly guesses what antigens to target. FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) met back in March to select the

Public Health Journalism This Week
AZ may permanently pay parent caregivers. Public comment ends Monday (azcentral.com) Hobbs’ heat emergency sparks criticism, could change policy | Arizona Capitol Times (azcapitoltimes.com) Abortion pill to stay on the market until U.S. Supreme Court ruling after appeals court order (azmirror.com) Maricopa County heat-associated deaths jump to 89 so far in 2023 (azcentral.com) Summer COVID-19 surge, measles emerging in more adults – Arizona PBS (azpbs.org) Hobbs’ heat emergency sparks criticism,

AHCCCS Exploring Making Parent Caregiver Reimbursement Permanent for ALTCS Members
Comments Due by 5pm Monday In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic AHCCCS launched an initiative allowing AZ parents who are caregivers for children (minors) with disabilities (and enrolled in the long-term care system called ALTCS) to get paid for their caregiving. The move was absolutely necessary at the time because so many caregivers were unable to work either because of risk factors or because they were in isolation