WASHINGTON – He is not currently enrolled in any classes or present on campus, but Kyle Rittenhouse is already casting a long shadow across Arizona State University.

Rittenhouse, acquitted of all charges this month in the killing of two people and the wounding of a third during 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, said during his trial that he was “studying nursing” online at ASU. He later said in news reports that he intends to enroll for in-person classes at the school.

University officials said Tuesday that Rittenhouse is not currently enrolled nor has he applied for admission. But that has not kept a number of left-wing groups from scheduling a rally Wednesday to call on the university to deny enrollment to the “high-profile right-wing fascist icon,” among other demands.

Conservative organizations, meanwhile, have come to Rittenhouse’s defense, with some raising money for legal fees and others accusing his opponents of harassment and engaging in “mob rule.”

The two sides agree on at least one thing: Each thinks the university is not doing enough.

An ASU spokesman Tuesday would only say that Rittenhouse is no longer enrolled in the school’s online nondegree programs and that, as of now, he has not applied for admission to a degree-seeking program.

click to enlarge

Travis Robertson, Cronkite News

PHOENIX – As hospitalizations rise and the holidays approach, health officials concerned about a new wave of infections are urging Arizonans to take preventative measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 and seasonal influenza.

Maricopa County last week experienced the biggest spike in daily cases since August, peaking at 4,708 on Nov. 8. COVID 19 hospitalizations and ICU cases also are up at the state’s largest hospital systems, placing strain on a workforce already struggling with staff shortages.

“We still have some capacity, but we’re stretched thin,” Dr. Michael White, chief clinical officer at Valleywise Health, told a news conference Wednesday. “It’s not just available space to take care of folks, it’s the qualified health care professionals and the team we need to be able to care for patients at the ICU level of care.”

White said there were 40 COVID-positive patients hospitalized on Wednesday, twice the number of three weeks ago.

Banner Health, Arizona’s largest health care system, which treats 44% of all COVID 19 cases in the state, reports a significant increase in COVID 19 admissions in the last week. Banner on Tuesday reported the highest ICU census in the past eight months.

The largest spike in the pandemic so far in Arizona occurred in early January, just after last year’s holiday season.

In the face of this growing concern, White stressed the importance of getting vaccinated, and he advised against relying on recently developed antiviral pills, such as Molnupiravir.

Pima County is expanding COVID booster eligibility rules to allow anyone over 18 to get the booster.

As Pima County hospitals fill up because of an increase in COVID cases, county officials are expanding eligibility ahead of the CDC’s recommendation.

Banner Health officials announced earlier this week that they have seen a significant increase in COVID ICU admissions and that COVID patients now account for more than a third of all ICU patients in Banner’s Arizona hospitals.

Dr. Joe Gerald, an epidemiologist with the UA Zuckerman School of Public Health who has been tracking COVID cases since the virus first arrived in Arizona, reported that as of Nov 10, 24% of Arizona’s general ward beds were used by COVID-19 patients—a 16% increase from a week before.

COVID hospitalizations align with the increasing trend of rising COVID-19 cases all over Arizona. As of Nov 7, Arizona’s COVID cases increased by 30% from the week prior, according to Gerald’s COVID report. From Nov 1 to Nov 9, Pima County cases increased by 38%, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. 

Pima County Health Department Director Dr. Theresa Cullen said at a Nov. 17 press conference that 25% of cases reported in October were of vaccinated people. The breakthrough infection rate has risen from 1% to 1.2%, indicating to health officials that vaccines have lower effectiveness over time.

“Vaccination is not sufficient to prevent transmission and clearly vaccination does not last forever, it doesn’t work that way for the flu either,” Pima County Chief Medical Officer and Deputy County Administrator Dr. Francisco Garcia said during the Pima County Board of Supervisors Nov. 16 meeting.

Health officials found that breakthrough cases tend to happen at about six months after full vaccination. As a result, Pima County health officials are urging all Pima County residents to get a booster shot if it’s been six months since their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two months since their single shot of Johnson & Johnson.