West Valley Realtors honored for productivity PAGE 6
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NEWS .............8 Banner breaks ground on rehab hospital
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Peoria’s Hometown Newspaper
May 2, 2019
19 Peoria schools at risk for measles outbreak BY JORDAN HOUSTON Peoria Times Staff Writer
At a time when state vaccination rates are on the decline, 66 elementary schools in the West Valley are at risk for a measles outbreak. Using data from the Arizona Department of Health Services, Peoria Times found that 66 schools in Avondale, Buckeye, Glendale, Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Peoria and Tolleson have less than 95% of their kindergartners vaccinated for Measles Mumps Rubella. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says coverage rates below that number no longer protect those who can’t be vaccinated — such as babies, people
with certain medical conditions and pregnant women. Glendale has the highest number of atrisk schools with 23, followed by Peoria, 19; Goodyear, eight; Buckeye, seven; Avondale, five; Litchfield and Tolleson tie with two schools each. While public schools make up the majority of at-risk schools, charter schools have the highest rates of vaccine exemptions. The non-district schools make up the bulk of schools with coverage rates 85% or below the safety threshold. Some of the larger charter schools with immunization rates below the threshold include Legacy Traditional-Peoria and Candeo Schools, both of which have more than 70 kindergartners.
Carlat praises progress at State of the City
Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, who has been studying vaccination rates in Arizona since he was the head of the state health department in 2009, said the statistics illustrate a common theme. “There are a couple of trends we’ve seen in Arizona over the years,” Humble said. “One in general is that it’s the higher income families with higher educational levels — both parents have college degrees and an income of over $100,000 — that are the ones we see choosing not to vaccinate. Not because of bad access to care but just because they decided not to.” Humble no longer works with the deSEE MEASLES PAGE 2
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BY DARRELL JACKSON Peoria Times Staff Writer
Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat delivered her fifth State of the City address April 25, during which she praised city staff as well as the direction and future of the city. But not before acknowledging the four Peoria firefighters who were injured in an explosion just days earlier. Capt. Hunter Clare, Engineer Justin Lopez and firefighters Matt Cottini and Jake Ciulla were injured and hospitalized while responding to reports of smoke at an APS substation on April 19. SEE STATE PAGE 4
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