[ad_1]
Alabama suffers ‘self-inflicted injury’ from COVID-19, hospitals filling up again as state tracks nation on vaccinations and pandemic precautions like face masks and social distancing are almost forgotten, a health official said on Tuesday.
A month ago, only 166 people were hospitalized statewide with COVID-19 after thousands were vaccinated and before a new variant took hold. But that low point was followed by a rapid increase, and nearly 500 people are currently being treated for the virus, statistics show.
Hospitals are nowhere near the tipping point they reached in January, when some 3,000 people were treated at the same time, but the fast-spreading Delta variant threatens to make the situation worse unless there is a rapid increase in vaccinations, a said Dr. Donald Williamson, president of the Alabama Hospital Association.
“There’s just a feeling of frustration,” said Williamson, who headed the Alabama Department of Public Health. “The fact that cases are increasing is a self-inflicted injury. “
Statistics show that only 50 people would currently be hospitalized if everyone eligible for an injection had received one, Williamson said, and it is likely that their illnesses would not be as severe.
“It is the scourge of our generation, and certainly of our lives. And now it could be so easily avoided, but we are failing to do it, ”he said.
Only 38% of the state’s population has received at least one dose of the vaccine and only 31% are fully vaccinated, according to state statistics, but the daily pace of vaccinations has slowed to roughly the same amount. than months ago when doses were scarce. Relatively few people still take precautions in public, and crowded businesses are commonplace.
Without a rapid turnaround in vaccinations, Williamson said, health officials fear that cases will continue to rise as highly contagious viral variants spread through the population in shops, churches, restaurants, bars, hospitals sports competitions and other public events.
Rather than reimposing restrictions such as mandatory masks, capacity limits for businesses or closures, Gov. Kay Ivey said all she supports is encouraging people to use their “voucher.” sense, “to show personal responsibility and get shot.
Over the past two weeks, the moving average number of new daily cases in Alabama has increased by 694, a peak of 573%. There were about 197 new cases per 100,000 population during the period, which ranked 11th nationally, with the largest increases along the coast in Mobile and Baldwin counties.
Some 11,436 people have died from COVID-19 in Alabama, giving the state the 17th highest death rate nationwide. Alabama has reported more than 560,000 positive tests, and the percentage of positive tests is increasing.
[ad_2]
Source link