Alabama is this week nationwide among the top 10 among states in COVID-19 cases per capita and in hospitalizations, according to UAB epidemiologist Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo raises alarm.
“Alabama is now experiencing some unenviable records,” Marrazzo, director of UAB’s infectious diseases division, said in a media call today. “We are now averaging 6 per country per capita in Covid cases over the past seven days and we are sitting behind states like California, Arizona, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Tennessee.”
The situation could be even worse than the numbers indicate due to the holiday, she said.
“This is not a good place for us to be in the top 10 on the list,” Marrazzo said. “We have not fallen off the list for a long time. We have an average of about 3,300 cases per day in the state. If you look at the averages of the past week, and I want to note that the number is probably an underestimation, as we know that we always have delays with the test, not only with weekends, but also with holidays that are over long weekends fell. I therefore think that we will see the reporting numbers quite strong over the next few days, and also take into account the fact that the New Year holidays are approaching. For example, on the 27th, only 4,000 tests were reported, and more than half of them were positive, so this is clearly not the whole picture of what’s going on.
Alabama ranks third in per capita hospitalizations, behind Nevada and Arizona, she said. “Unfortunately, there have been 2,802 people admitted to the hospital, and that is a new record,” Marrazzo said.
The number of Covid cases is particularly high in provinces in northern Alabama, which probably reflects the spread of Tennessee, “which is also in a very serious condition,” she said.
With 1.3 million people traveling nationwide on Dec. 27, things are likely to get worse, she said. “It’s likely to present a peak on top of a peak on top of a peak,” Marrazzo said. “We really haven’t recovered from the Thanksgiving versions yet.”
UAB Hospital currently has 186 actively confirmed cases of COVID-19 being treated, less than 207, which was the first time UAB broke the 200 barrier.
“UAB really reflects the other hospitals in the state,” Marrazzo said. “Everyone is really pushed to the limit. It’s not like we can not take care of people, and I want to emphasize that, but we’re really stretched. ”
The state added 25 COVID-related deaths today, totaling 4,737, and hospitalizations jumped to 2,804 today, the highest reported since the coronavirus pandemic began.
UAB is preparing for a possible scenario of up to 400 COVID patients in the coming weeks – about double the peak so far, she said.
“It will potentially affect every person who uses our healthcare system,” she said.
The UAB hospital has so far vaccinated about 6,000 people, Marrazzo said. Overall, more than 20,000 have been vaccinated since last week.
Vaccinations nationwide have been slower than hoped. “It takes a long time to rush,” she said. “I do not think it is happening as fast as we would like.”
People should not stop wearing their masks just because some people have taken the vaccine, she said. “The vaccine is not a passport to a mask-free society,” she said.
For anyone still careful about wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Marrazzo said she was indignant.
“If you continue like this, you will be responsible for more deaths,” she said.