[ad_1]
MONTGOMERY, Alabama (AP) – The rapid increase in the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Alabama appears to have stabilized, but the state still faces the “real crisis” of an overwhelming number of patients requiring treatment. intensive care, almost all of which are not vaccinated, the chief medical officer said on Friday.
After threatening to reach an all-time high in hospitalizations during the coronavirus pandemic, public hospitals have seen a slight decline in recent days, said Dr Scott Harris, chief of the Alabama Department of Public Health.
The total number of hospitalizations fell below 2,700 on Thursday for the first time in more than a week, he said at a press briefing.
“We had a small plateau over the past week. I am very grateful for this. The numbers are not great. But the numbers at least have not continued to increase, ”he said.
Yet unvaccinated people ill with COVID-19 and a relatively small number of vaccinated people who have contracted the disease continue to need more intensive care beds than the state has, he said. declared. Instead, patients who would normally be treated in intensive care units are cared for in emergency rooms, normal beds or even stretchers left in hallways, he said.
“We continue to have a real crisis in Alabama with our intensive care bed capacity,” Harris said. “Yesterday there were about 60 more patients in need of intensive care than we have in intensive care beds in the state.”
While Harris said Alabama’s immunization numbers have improved in recent weeks as the state saw double-digit deaths daily for about a month, just under 40 percent of state residents are fully vaccinated, up from 53% nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With the demand for vaccines increasing, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and UAB Medicine have announced that they will open two drive-thru vaccination sites in the Birmingham metropolitan area. Still, health officials are frustrated with the way misinformation spreads online, conspiracy theories and other factors are keeping the number of vaccinations below what is needed to stop the pandemic.
Former US general surgeon Regina Benjamin, who rose to prominence in treating patients on the Alabama coast, said in a briefing Thursday that she “always preached” for members of her own. family accept the vaccine. Confidence appears to have eroded as she tries to build relationships with patients during discussions about COVID-19, she said.
“The best thing to do is just listen and listen to patients when they have real concerns, especially about misinformation. We are trying to clarify things, ”said Benjamin.
More than 12,500 people have died from COVID-19 in Alabama, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. The death toll is the 17th highest in the country overall and the eighth highest per capita with around 257 deaths per 100,000 people, and Harris said about 90% of those who died were not vaccinated .
Over the past two weeks, the moving average number of new daily cases has remained virtually constant at around 3,827 per day. Hospitals are seeing younger and sicker patients than at any time during the crisis, Harris said.
There have been about 1,222 new cases per 100,000 people in Alabama over the past two weeks, which ranks fifth in the country.
[ad_2]
Source link