Arizona Edition

College enrollment is down nationwide due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As vaccines are administered and virus numbers improve, Arizona Western College, the community college that serves Yuma and La Paz Counties, is looking to reconnect lost students and expand access to higher education in the region. AWC President, Dr. Daniel Corr, talks about a new partnership with the state's three public universities and a push by state lawmakers to allow community colleges to offer four-year degrees.  

The former director of Arizona's health department, Will Humble, says zip-code level data on Covid-19 vaccination rates statewide would show low numbers for disadvantaged populations. But will the state release the information?  

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has asked the federal government for more COVID-19 vaccine for state residents. Most will receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, but in Yuma County, because of its ease of transport and storage, health officials chose to distribute the Moderna vaccine. 

The Arizona Department of Health Services Covid-19 dashboard says the first case of COVID-19 was collected on Jan. 22nd, 2020. 

One year later, there are over 700,000 cases in the state and more than 12,000 people have died from complications of COVID-19. 

From day one, standing on the medical frontlines against COVID-19, 95,000 Arizona nurses. 

Until recently, those in Yuma and other communities in our region had little choice if they wanted to pursue a career in social work.  While Northern Arizona University’s Yuma campus offers a bachelor's degree in Social Work, a master’s level program meant traveling out of town, most likely to Phoenix.