The coronavirus pandemic has reached an important moment in Alabama, and the vaccination of the state continues to falter. New case numbers are dropping – it is reaching lows not seen here since October – and if all the pieces fall in the right way, there could be a light at the end of the tunnel.
But things are not going smoothly. The spectrum of new virus variants – already confirmed in Alabama – has raised questions about whether our people can be vaccinated fast enough to compensate for a new boom. Right now, Alabama is falling behind.
As of Friday, Alabama had died for the last time in the country in terms of vaccine doses per capita. This includes both the first and second doses.
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But there are a number of ways to measure vaccine vaccination, and Alabama is the most at the bottom of the list. Although, the state wins field.
As of Friday, Alabama had risen to the seventh lowest percentage of the population receiving at least one dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In early February, Alabama ranks fourth out of last in that category. But the state recently pulled ahead of Tennessee, Georgia and Rhode Island with the distribution of the first doses.
The data show that 9.1 percent of Alabama’s population received at least their first dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
But Alabama continues to issue second doses and complete vaccinations. So far, only 2.5 percent of the population has received a second dose, the second to last in the country behind just Idaho.
It will take time before Alabama catches up in that category. The condition was slow in rolling out first doses, and a second dose could not be given for a few weeks after the initial shot.
Weekly vaccination numbers here have recently flattened, with just over 100,000 doses given per week over the past month.
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Data for this week is incomplete because it does not contain data for Saturday.
The number of Pfizer vaccines given here each week has been steadily increasing since its initial launch in December. The state stabbed 58,000 weapons with the specific vaccine this week, the most in a week, despite containing only six days of data.
But the number of Modern vaccines given each week has declined over the past three weeks, from nearly 70,000 for the week ending January 23, to just 43,000 so far this week.
State kills 9,000 coronavirus deaths, but falls
The state has suffered 9,000 total virus deaths since the pandemic began this week. According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, 9,180 people died in Alabama from the virus. Nearly half of the deaths were reported in 2021, including another 731 deaths reported this week.
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However, this does not mean that many people have died so far in 2021. It takes time to complete the deaths, and many of the deaths reported so far this year are from December last year or earlier. But the state has recently reported an average of more than 100 deaths per day and the average death reported was only 25 days old, meaning most came in 2021.
And the death toll, which is not yet complete, shows that 1,776 people died in January from the virus – the most ever in a month. According to the data, where hundreds of deaths are still missing, 1531 people died in December, the following month.
But there is good news. New case numbers have dropped dramatically in Alabama over the past month and have dropped 69 percent since Jan. 10.
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The average of 7 days for new cases dropped to 1,335 cases per day on Friday – the lowest number since October.
This Monday, the state reported less than 1,000 new cases in a day, the first time it has happened in a day without the data being delayed since early November.
The state reported 9,348 new cases this week, the lowest weekly total since the week ending October 16, and for the first time in 14 weeks, the state did not exceed the 10,000 case threshold.
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Within Alabama, Jefferson County – the most populous county in the state – added the most new virus cases this week. Jefferson added 1,163 new businesses, followed by Mobile with 849 new businesses, and Madison, home of Huntsville, with 839.
Tuscaloosa County, home of the University of Alabama, reported 57 new deaths this week – the most of any state. Jefferson was second with 53 deaths.
You can see how many cases and deaths each province in Alabama added this week and in general in the table below:
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Do you have an idea for a data story about Alabama? Send an email to Ramsey Archibald at [email protected], and follow him on Twitter @RamseyArchibald. Read more information stories about Alabama here.