COVID-19 was again the leading cause of death in Arizona
For a second year, COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But in Arizona, it was the leading cause of death in 2021.
"We think it's the only state in which COVID-19 was the leading cause of death during the pandemic," said Will Humble, executive director for the Arizona Public Health Association.
In a recent report, Humble’s team looked at the two-year period when COVID-19 was active.
"And we can't find another state where COVID-19 was the leading cause of death for both of those years," he said. "We think Arizona is the only state that's in that category. And of course, that reflects the terrible performance that we had in Arizona with controlling COVID-19."
There is some good news. Humble says cases will ebb and flow, but he doesn’t expect hospitalizations to go up nor does he expect to see as many deaths due to COVID-19.
