Alabama gave more than 137,000 doses of vaccine last week, despite snow and ice that some clinics had to close, especially in northern Alabama. The total was the second highest yet in Alabama, and the trend is clearly increasing.
More than 600,000 Alabamis received at least one dose of the vaccine, about 12.5% of the state’s population. More than 268,000 received both doses, about 5.5% of the population.
“We are very, very happy about how we are doing,” said Dr. Scott Harris, a Alabama health officer, said Thursday.
The week before last, Alabama set a new record by offering large-scale transit clinics and dispensing more than 157,000 doses.
According to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Alabama administered 864,757 vaccine doses as of Friday, nearly 74 percent of the 1.1 million doses delivered to the state.
Harris said the state will continue to receive about 90,000 to 100,000 first-dose Pfizer and Modern vaccines.
If the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is approved by federal regulators in the coming days, as expected, Alabamians could give a third option and further increase the supply of vaccine coming into the state.
“We work very hard to get people on a very predictable cadence of awards so they know exactly how much they are going to get each week or each month,” Harris said. “It makes it a lot easier for people to plan and plan.”
No tips can be added if people with health conditions are added
Currently, numerous groups are officially invited to report to the hundreds of distribution points across the state. These include medical workers, first responders, teachers, manufacturers, people over the age of 65, public transport workers, workers in grocery stores and more.
Harris did not offer an estimate of when the state will shift its vaccination focus to the next group of people in the state’s vaccine plan: people with health conditions that put them at higher risk for death or serious illness if they do get COVID.
This is a large number of people in Alabama. ADPH’s list of health conditions includes common conditions such as obesity, diabetes, smoking, as well as cancer, lung disease, and heart disease.
“People with chronic health problems deserve to be vaccinated absolutely as soon as possible,” Harris said. ‘We do everything in our power to get there as quickly as possible. The barrier was that we were in an unhealthy condition in Alabama, before the start of COVID, and if you add the group of people who have diabetes and heart disease and obesity and chronic lung disease, then those are the things that can help them. high risk, you have more people than we are now trying to vaccinate.
‘You double more than the size of the group of people. And so it’s not fair to say to that group of people ‘OK, now you’re in the front row’, if there is no additional vaccine in the state. ‘
Harris’ message to Alabamians is simple: keep trying.
“Please persevere,” he said. ‘Everyone who wants a shot is going to get a shot. We’re going to have enough for everyone who wants it, and there’s just not enough to go around yet. But keep up the good work. ”
Harris said people on the ADPH website can search for a list and map of providers offering the vaccine, including retail pharmacies like Walmart and CVS, as well as traditional clinics and emergency care facilities.
“Talk to doctors and clinics and pharmacies and urgent care in your community who have the vaccine,” Harris said.