BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (AP) – COVID-19-related hospitalizations have jumped about 20 percent in less than two weeks in Alabama, a trend health officials said Tuesday they were monitoring, but do not consider any signs of a new pandemic crisis.
Alabama Department of Public Health statistics showed 362 people were hospitalized Monday for the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Although it went from 301 patients just 10 days earlier, the total was still only a fraction of the 3,070 patients who pushed the state’s intensive care units to almost their capacity in mid-January.
The increase in cases is worrying, but it does not immediately endanger the state’s health care system, as the number of people cared for remains well below levels compared to earlier this year, Dr. Don Williamson said. , chief executive of the Alabama Hospital Association.
In addition, he said, a significant increase in the number of serious patients is not expected because more and more people are vaccinated and an increasing number of patients are young, who tend to perform better than older patients with health complications. .
“It’s nothing dramatic, but it’s something we have to keep in mind that’s happening,” said Williamson, who previously served as a state health officer. Over the past two weeks, the average number of new cases daily has increased by 163, an increase of about 50 percent, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Scott Harris, who followed Williamson in Public Health, said officials were overseeing the increase in hospitalizations, but are still unsure of the cause. The echo comes after the spring break, Easter meetings and the end of the mandatory state of masks rule 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 cautious,” 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. Although approximately 1.4 million in the state have received at least one dose of vaccine, Alabama ranks the last national immunization rate for people nationwide.
The vaccine is more plentiful than ever, Williamson said, but several hospitals across the state had vaccination appointments available last week “and no one showed up to receive the vaccines.”
“In a significant number of our hospitals demand is low,” he said. It is unclear whether demand at hospitals was low because shots were available elsewhere or because large numbers of people refuse to get vaccinated, Williamson said.
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AP writer Kim Chandler in Montgomery contributed to this report.