Arizona’s top public health official is urging residents to be “influencers” who “gently encourage” their loved ones to get COVID-19 vaccinations and booster shots for the sake of themselves and others.
“The importance of influencers can’t be overstated when it comes to encouraging people to protect themselves from COVID,” Department of Health Services interim Director Don Herrington said in a blog post on Wednesday.
Herrington cited public encouragements by President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and other public figures, including former Arizona Diamondbacks player Louis Gonzalez and other Arizonans who appeared in a public service announcement.
Arizona has the fourth-highest state rate of COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic started, according to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
The state’s coronavirus dashboard on Thursday reported 3,222 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and 25 more virus deaths, increasing Arizona’s pandemic totals to 1,347,405 cases and 23,041 deaths.
Arizona’s seven-day rolling average of daily COVID-19 deaths rose over the past two weeks from 61.3 on Dec. 7 to 70.3 on Tuesday, while the state’s rolling average of daily new virus cases dropped from 4,093.4 to 2,883.7 during the same period, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
