Science Archives - Page 15 of 136 - BirminghamWatch
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Emergency Departments Are Being Flooded With COVID Patients

UPDATE — Alabama once again added more than 8,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day on Friday, and the positivity rate rose to an all-time high of 34.6%. Alabama has had 896,614 COVID cases reported since the pandemic began in March 2020, according to an Alabama Department of Public Health update late Friday afternoon, 8,051 more cases than Thursday. Jefferson County added 1,810 of those cases and hit a positivity rate, the rate of COVID tests that returned a positive result, of 37.4%. Every county in the state is now at high risk for transmission of the virus. Emergency rooms are being overrun with record numbers of patients, and a UAB doctor on Wednesday urged people not to go to emergency rooms for COVID-19 tests or treatment for minor symptoms. Dr. Bobby Lewis, vice chair of clinical operations for UAB Emergency Medicine, said UAB and other hospitals in the city have for the past few days been seeing about a third more patients than they usually would on a heavy day. The hospital already has appropriated additional spaces to handle the emergency department overload and it has brought on more doctors, nurses and other personnel to handle the surge, Lewis said. Hospital officials are considering converting more space to treatment areas, such as setting up tents. “We are approaching the point of being overwhelmed,” Lewis said. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

Alabama at High COVID Risk Statewide on Eve of Christmas Festivities

Alabama as a whole is now classified as being at high risk of COVID transmission as cases skyrocket just days before Christmas. On Thursday, 2,060 new COVID cases were reported, giving the state a 1,173 7-day average for new cases, more than triple the daily average at the start of the month. The omicron variant has spurred COVID increases across the country. The variant is far more infectious than earlier strains but tends to cause milder illness, though it still can be extremely dangerous, particularly for people with other health conditions, and still carries the risk of inflicting sufferers with long COVID. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

Omicron, as Infectious as Measles, Has Officials Worried About Spread, Overload of Health Care Systems

The explosive growth of the highly infectious omicron variant and a rapid rise in COVID cases since Thanksgiving prompted several officials and physicians to raise the red flag Tuesday. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and Jefferson County Health Officer Mark E. Wilson suggested that a new surge in cases could overwhelm local hospitals and urged people to get vaccinated. Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at UAB, said the spread of omicron is now being compared to the measles, one of the most infectious agents known to man. Other news on the COVID front: Jefferson County is now classified as having a high rate of community transmission. Vaccines not as effective against omicron and monoclonal antibodies ineffective. Preventive measures urged. Recommendations for holiday travel. Marrazzo: “This virus is just weird. It’s a weird virus that has been unpredictable and has done things that we haven’t seen with other respiratory viruses. So I’d just really respect it.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett and Virginia Martin

Carbon Monoxide From Generators Poisons Thousands of People a Year. The U.S. Has Failed to Force Safety Changes.

This story was originally published by ProPublica. Portable generators can save lives after major storms by powering medical equipment, heaters and refrigerators when the grid collapses. But desperate residents who rely on the machines to keep their families safe sometimes end up poisoning them instead. The devices can emit as much carbon monoxide as 450 cars, according to federal figures. They kill an average of 70 people in the U.S. each year and injure thousands more, making them one of the most dangerous consumer products on the market. Read more.

by Perla Trevizo, Lexi Churchill and Ren Larson, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune; Mike Hixenbaugh and Suzy Khimm, NBC News

Omicron Variant Found in West Alabama Resident; State’s COVID-19 Numbers on Increase

Christmastime is here, and now the omicron variant of COVID-19 is as well. The Alabama Department of Public Health announced Thursday that the fast-spreading variant, first reported in November in southern parts of Africa, has been found in a patient in Alabama. The ADPH was vague on details because of federal privacy laws but did say that the infected person was tested after noticing symptoms earlier in December. The resident had not traveled outside the state recently and lives somewhere in the West Central Public Health District — an area that includes Tuscaloosa, Bibb, Walker, Lamar, Fayette, Pickens, Sumter, Greene, Hale, Perry and Chilton counties. Omicron arrives as COVID numbers in the state already have started to rise. Alabama and Jefferson County both were on the cusp of dropping into the ‘low’ category for community transmission just a month ago. Now both are listed in the substantial transmission category, the third-highest of four risk levels. Under health department recommendations, the change means that everyone, even those who are fully vaccinated, are advised to wear masks in public indoor settings. Health officials also have stepped up their efforts to encourage those who are not vaccinated to get a vaccine. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Jefferson County Commission Considers Buying CPR Devices

The Jefferson County Commission will likely approve the purchase of at least 123 Lucas chest compression devices. The sheriff’s office requested the funding from American Rescue Plan Act funds to purchase 250 of the automatic CPR devices at a cost of $17,980. The plan was for 138 of the devices to be deployed to 49 entities throughout the county. The timing of the matter is sensitive as a price hike of 7% per unit is expected after the first of 2022. Another 138 Lucas devices were previously purchased with monies from the Care Act. Commissioners were concerned that the devices need to be in more isolated locations where ambulance response times have been especially long. Commissioners noted the need to have devices in county senior centers and in schools. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Field Trips Look a Lot Different for Students This Year. But That’s Not Entirely Bad.

For Birmingham K-12 students, the McWane Science Center has been a key field trip destination where students climb on interactive exhibits, touch stingrays and learn about fossils. It’s a place students look forward to going to every year. It’s especially exciting for 8-year-old Olivia Ragland and her friends. “I mean this is my second field trip this year, and it’s already been fun,” she said. “So, I’m just happy.” It is a complete 180 from last year, when Olivia said she felt sad that school was boring. Many students in Birmingham spent the 2020-2021 school year online because of the pandemic. Many field trip destinations were closed as well. But with schools adapting to the pandemic, in-person field trips are back too. Read more.

by Kyra Miles, WBHM

Delta New Cases Are Trending Upward as Alabama Anticipates Its First Case of Omicron

Omicron has still not made an appearance in Alabama — yet. But the delta variant of the COVID virus is going strong, and new cases are increasing after a three-month downtrend. In BirminghamWatch’s periodic analysis of the spread of COVID through Alabama, the number of daily new cases has nearly doubled over the past 10 days, and hospitalizations also have ticked upward, though not by much. The increases have moved Alabama back into the substantial risk category, the highest of four categories used to classify community transmission of COVID, according to information from the Alabama Department of Public Health. The virus had backed off enough that the state was almost into the low risk category one month ago. Read more.

by Robert Carter
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