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Hospitalizations due to the coronavirus are skyrocketing in Alabama.
Data from the Alabama Department of Public Health shows a rapid increase in the number of patients treated for the coronavirus this week, as the most contagious Delta variant crosses the state.
The state reported on Friday that 727 people were being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals in Alabama, the most at one time since late February.
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While still well below the peak seen earlier this year, the increase is striking. Friday’s number represents an increase of over 300% since July 3, just before the July 4 break and Delta’s full arrival. And the state’s 7-day average for current hospitalizations is above 600 for the first time since March.
Earlier this week, Dr. Don Williamson, chief of the Alabama Hospital Association, called the situation “frustrating.”
“There’s just a feeling of frustration,” said Williamson, who headed the Alabama Department of Public Health. “The fact that the cases are increasing is a self-inflicted injury. “
Dr Brytney Cobia, a hospitalist at Birmingham’s Grandview Medical Center, made the news this week discussing the treatment of patients with COVID who request a vaccine before being intubated. She said she had to tell them, “I’m sorry, but it’s too late.”
Alabama continued to have the lowest vaccination rate in the country with 33.9% of the population fully vaccinated, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday. It’s just behind Mississippi, where 34% are fully vaccinated.
Do you have an idea for an Alabama data story? Email Ramsey Archibald at [email protected], and follow him on Twitter @RamseyArchibald. Read more stories about Alabama data here.
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