How AZ Is Weathering Pandemic: See New Weekly Virus Data

ARIZONA — Newly released White House data is giving more insight into the status of the coronavirus in Arizona, and how the state compares to others in the U.S.

The White House COVID-19 response has compiled state-by-state data throughout the pandemic, but the reports were kept private from the public.

The reason for keeping them hidden, according to a report by the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity, was to encourage states to lead their own response to the pandemic.

Dr. Deborah Birx, a leader of the White House task force under former President Donald Trump, said on a private call last summer that the reports were “critical to really ensure we’re all looking at the same data and all looking at the same mitigation efforts,” according to a separate report by the Center for Public Integrity.

However, just before Christmas, the coronavirus task force under Trump stopped its proactive approach to sending out the reports. Instead, the task force said it would only distribute reports if states requested them.

President Joe Biden's new administration has decided to release the data to the public, White House COVID-19 Data Director Cyrus Shahpar confirmed Wednesday on Twitter.

All 52 state profile reports can be found online. They will be updated weekly.

Here's how Arizona fared in its first weekly report, which was released Wednesday with data for 7 days ending Sunday:

Arizona reported 685 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people. That's about twice the infection rate of the entire country, which currently boasts 381 new cases per 100,000 people. The U.S. Department of Health Services has said they would like that rate to be below 25. While that number is high, Arizona's infection rate is down 20 percent from the week before — a sign that the state is trending in the right direction.

(White House COVID-19 Team)

Arizona's death rate is more than double the country's as a whole. The state recorded 961 deaths last week for an average of 13.2 deaths per 100,000 people. In contrast, the U.S. recorded 21,658 deaths for a rate of 6.5 for every 100,000 people. That number is also trending in the right direction in Arizona, down 13 percent from the week before.

Elsewhere in the report, hospitalizations across the state reported a small 3 percent decrease week-over-week and the number of Arizona hospitals reporting supply shortages is down by 7 percent.

14 out of 15 Arizona counties continue to be in the 'red zone' for test positivity and new cases. The one exception is Greenlee, which is in the 'orange zone.' Maricopa and Pima Counties, the two largest in the state, also have the two highest infection rates.

While Arizona's coronavirus testing is on par with the national rate, it is steadily decreasing. The state conducted approximately 224,026 lab tests last week for a rate of 3,078 for every 100,000 people. That's a 23 percent decrease from the week before, according to the data. The national average is 3,092 deaths per 100,000 people.

The White House report ranks all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, based on their number of new cases per every 100,000 residents. Arizona took the first spot on this week's list, making it the state with the highest infection rate in the U.S. It was followed by South Carolina, California, Rhode Island, New York and Georgia.

Arizona leaders and health officials have made efforts in recent days to accelerate its vaccination plan and get vaccines into the arms of Arizonans as quickly as possible.

Gov. Doug Ducey announced Tuesday that he had issued new rules requiring health care providers to report all vaccination data to the Arizona Department of Health Services so it can track the speed of vaccinations across the state. That data will also help ADHS determine whether doses need to be reallocated to regions who can use them more quickly.

The state said Wednesday it has administered 518,125 vaccine doses and 79,026 Arizonans have received both required shots.