In the state’s race to administer Covid – 19 vaccines to residents, Alabama has been behind bars throughout.
Alabama administered 10,013 doses per 100,000 people as of Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Meanwhile, it was one of the highest rates in the U.S. for positive coronavirus tests in the past month at 29.1%, based on data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Several factors are important, according to health officials and specialists. Alabama’s public health system has been depleted by years of poor funding, and some counties have had thin health departments or no department at all. Administrative and technological problems, including inadequate hiring programs and outdated software, hampered the effort.
Alabama’s telephone line for vaccine appointments initially fell short, with insufficient lines to handle the demand, Drs. Karen Landers, a medical officer from the Department of Public Health in Alabama, said. An appointment site was only launched last week. Last month, a problem with the discussion led to people showing up at a vaccination event in the Birmingham area to see that it was listed incorrectly and no one was there.
A large portion of Alabama’s population lives in rural areas with limited health services. Since 2009, seven rural hospitals in the state have closed, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services at the University of North Carolina.