NewsCenter for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona

As a number of states open vaccine eligibility to more adults, Blues insurers across the country are aiming to be a community resource to ensure shots are administered.

If you are an allergy sufferer, Dr. James Napoli with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona recommends staying indoors and trying to avoid pollen altogether.

The subsidy expansion under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 could allow more than 89,000 uninsured Arizonans to be eligible for health insurance plans with lower or no-cost premiums, according to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ).

Here are the Top 10 healthiest employers in Arizona, based on public voting for the 2021 edition of Ranking Arizona, the state’s biggest and most comprehensive business opinion poll.

At the heart of the effort are the volunteers—nearly 400 each day—staffed, organized and managed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) in an unprecedented public-private partnership.

3. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona partnered with the state to help staff and manage hundreds of volunteers at two of the state's three mass vaccination sites.

“If you do contract COVID between the first and second shots, the first thing I’ll say is, absolutely get the second shot,” says Dr. Piyush Gupta. He says patients do need to wait for their 10- to 14-day quarantine to end, but do not need to test negative prior to getting their second dose.

Currently, the recommendation is to wait a minimum of two weeks after you get another type of vaccine (for flu, pneumonia, shingles, etc.) before you get the COVID shot. We wanted to know why there was that mandatory two-week waiting period, so we took that question to Dr. Piyush Gupta.

The Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) is pleased to announce that Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) has transitioned to an Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS)-run COVID-19 vaccination point-of-dispensing (POD) site.

Vaccinations mean that hope is here, and Arizona’s recovery has been jumpstarted with one of the highest-volume, 24/7 vaccine sites in the country at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. With more than 8,000 vaccines administered every day … about one every 10 seconds … Arizonans have come together in a colossal act of love.

So far, 15 health insurance organizations have signed on to the Vaccine Community Connects pilot program. Beginning this week, these insurers will reach out to their members, with a focus on people living in the country's most at-risk vulnerable and underserved areas, including African American and Hispanic communities.

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention recently came out with guidance about "double masking" as a way to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and it turns out, two masks may be better than one --but it all depends on what kind of masks you're wearing and if you're wearing them properly. We asked ABC15 Health Insider Dr. Piyush Gupta about this to see if it was worth it.

How quickly does your immunity develop once you get the COVID-19 vaccine?

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is recognizing frontline heroes in the state who have gone above and beyond to help others during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Arizonans who may have lost their health insurance but earn too much to qualify for Medicaid can go to HealthCare.gov to sign up. There are no special circumstances needed and you have until May 15 to do so.

We spoke to our Health Insider Dr. Piyush Gupta about this same topic this week and about reports from some that their arms have hurt more after receiving the second COVID-19 vaccination.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona recognized frontline workers in the state who have gone above and beyond to help others during the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization announced in a news release Wednesday.

"I've been practicing medicine for a couple of years now. This is one of the most gratifying things I've ever been able to have the privilege of doing in my career," Dr. Piyush Gupta, a volunteer at the State Farm Stadium vaccination site in Glendale, Arizona, told Insider.

Today, we want to show you what it looks like on the ground, in Glendale, Arizona. We’re going to do a tour of State Farm Stadium, which started giving its first shots on January 11.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will virtually tour the state-run COVID-19 vaccination site at State Farm Stadium on Monday, the White House announced Sunday evening.

"Herd immunity is based on how contagious a virus is," explains Dr. Piyush Gupta with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.

ABC15 spoke with experts Wednesday morning to answer some of your most pressing questions about the coronavirus vaccine, the process of getting vaccinated, and more.

ABC15 talked to Dr. Piyush Gupta with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona who has also been volunteering his own time to get the vaccine in even more arms. We caught up with him recently at State Farm Stadium.

Blue Cross© Blue Shield© of Arizona is awarding up to $500,000 in grants to assist organizations that are fighting the opioid epidemic and substance use disorder by increasing access to life-saving services.