Advocacy: We support vaccines and vaccine education.
October 20, 2020
Please read the letter template to send to Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in support of continuing the mask mandate in Maricopa County.
The Honorable Clint Hickman and
Members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
301 West Jefferson Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85003
Dear Chairman Hickman and Members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors:
As leaders in the health care ecosystem, we thank you for supporting public health with the mask mandate, the most effective safety protocol to minimize infection with the exception of a shelter in place mandate.
We understand there is a small but vocal minority calling for the elimination of the mask mandate in Maricopa. We urge you to continue maintaining the mandate. To lift the mandate would be a devastating blow to the progress we have seen in the past few months of declining COVID infection and death rates in Arizona, once an epicenter of the pandemic.
Until a vaccine is widely available, masks and social distancing are the most effective tools we have to save lives, short of widespread shelter in place orders that would devastate the economy.
- Multiple scientific studies have been published demonstrating proper mask usage reduces infection[i]. There have been no scientific studies that show masks do not reduce COVID infection.
- Our own experience in Arizona reflects the effectiveness of widespread mask usage. We came dangerously close to exceeding hospital capacity in Arizona over the July 4th Since the mask mandate was implemented, hospital inpatient rates and deaths due to COVID have continued to drop. A recent CDC report expressed that masks played a crucial role in controlling the outbreak in Arizona this past summer.[ii] The United States has struggled more than any other county with mask mandates, enduring almost 21% of total deaths with only about 4% of the entire world population.
- According to a Harvard CAPS/Harris Pool, 79% support a mask mandate (July 2020).
Science supports mask wearing. Removing the mask mandate before a vaccine is available will cost lives. We urge you to maintain the existing mask mandate.
Thank you for your consideration of this critical matter.
Sincerely yours,
[i] The World Health Organization, June 2020, Institute for Health Metrics, June 2020, Health affairs-Wyi Lyu & George Wehby, June 2020
[ii] The Center for Disease Control, October 2020
August, 2020
Please read the letter TAPI and some of our important partners have sent to Governor Ducey. Help us urge him to remind parents that kids still need vaccines!
Interact with TAPI
Former Anti-Vaccine Mom Explains How Movement Pulled Her In, And How She Left
n.pr
The anti-vaccine movement has existed in various forms for decades. The Internet and social media created a surge in misinformation. We profile a mother who got pulled in, and how she got out.
What are some of the #COVID19 protection measures that are slowing the spread of #flu?
increased flu vaccinations ⬆️
many schools and businesses meeting virtually instead of in-person 🖥️
fewer people traveling 🚅
https://bit.ly/39H6vlj
For those who wish to volunteer and help with vaccination sites, here’s the link! https://esar-vhp.health.azdhs.gov/
Stay home if you are sick
Avoid close contact with
sick people and wear a mask
Cover your nose and mouth
when you sneeze
Wash your hands often
Clean and disinfect
Stay up to date on your vaccinations