BIRMINGHAM, Ala (AP) – COVID-19-related hospitalizations have risen about 20% in less than two weeks in Alabama, a trend that health officials said Tuesday they are monitoring but not a sign of another upcoming crisis in the pandemic.
Statistics from the Department of Public Health in Alabama showed that 362 people were admitted to the hospital on Monday due to the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Although it was only 30 days before the 301 patients, the total was still only a fraction of the 3,070 patients that drove the state’s intensive care units to near capacity in mid-January.
The increase in cases is worrying, but does not immediately threaten the health care system of the state, because the number of people being treated is much lower than earlier this year, said dr. Don Williamson, chief executive of the Alabama Hospital Association, said.
He also said that a large increase in the number of seriously ill patients is not expected as more and more people are vaccinated and increasing numbers of patients are young people who tend to perform better than older patients with health complications.
“It’s nothing dramatic, but it’s something we need to realize,” said Williamson, who previously served as a state health officer. According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the moving average number of daily new cases increased by 163, an increase of about 50%.
Dr Scott Harris, who followed Williamson at Public Health, said officials were monitoring the increase in hospitalizations but were not yet sure of the cause. The bump follows the spring break, Easter rallies and the end of the state’s mandatory face mask on April 9, any of which could be a factor.
“The increase in hospitalizations is just a reminder that our most vulnerable people still need to be careful,” he told The Associated Press.
More than 522,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Alabama since the beginning of the pandemic, and nearly 10,800 have died. While about 1.4 million people in the state have received at least one dose of vaccine, Alabama is the last time it immunizes people.
Vaccination is more than ever before, Williamson said, but several hospitals across the country had immunization appointments last week, and no one showed up to get the vaccines. ‘
“In a significant number of our hospitals, demand is down,” he said. It is unclear whether demand in hospitals was low because shots were available elsewhere or because a large number of people refused to be vaccinated, Williamson said.
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AP author Kim Chandler in Montgomery contributed to this report.