Science

The Unknowns of Omicron: New COVID Variant Brings More Questions Than Answers for Now

There’s a lot more we don’t know about the new omicron variant of COVID-19 than what we do know. Dr. Suzanne Judd, a professor and epidemiologist at the UAB School of Public Health, told reporters in a Tuesday morning online conference that the variant first discovered in South Africa is spreading rapidly in that region, but there are many unanswered questions about how severe the symptoms might be for those infected. “The truth of it is, we just don’t know enough about it. We have things that we think about the omicron variant based on what is coming out of South Africa,” Judd said. “We think it spreads more rapidly than delta. This is based on the fact that South Africa is having a huge surge in cases of COVID, despite the fact that they already battled a delta wave almost at the same time that Alabama (did). “We think it may be less virulent, which means it may be less severe, less likely to put people in the hospital, but still spreading quite rapidly.” Read more.

by Robert Carter

UAB Partnership to Study Cancer Disparities Gets Grant Renewal

UAB’s O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of three research institutes collectively awarded a five-year, $18 million grant to study and address cancer disparities in underserved communities across the South. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Alabama’s COVID Numbers Stay Mostly Steady as Delta Variant Remains Dominant

As health officials worldwide cast a wary eye on the newly discovered omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, the delta strain continues to account for the vast majority of new cases in Alabama. In BirminghamWatch’s periodic analysis of the spread of COVID throughout the state, the number of daily new cases has risen from reports covering the Thanksgiving holiday period. However, the amount of fluctuation in the numbers caused by health agency staffers taking time off during that period is unclear. The 7-day moving average of new COVID cases stands at 352.86 per day as of Thursday. That’s up from 283 on Tuesday, the lowest level the average has seen since July 7, but it also is down by 21% from the average of 444.43 a week before. The average has been in a steady decline since Sept. 1, when the pandemic all-time record of 5,538 cases per day was set at the height of the delta-variant surge. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Court Temporarily Suspends Mandate for Health Care Workers to Be Vaccinated

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday temporarily blocking President Biden’s mandate that all health care workers be vaccinated against COVID, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced. Marshall and attorneys general in 13 other states filed a suit seeking to block the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

by BirminghamWatch

Deep South’s Most Vulnerable Residents Share Their Stories During EPA’s ‘Journey to Justice’ Tour

Black residents of Southeast Louisiana, dedicated to fighting air and soil pollution in their own neighborhoods and towns met with EPA Administrator Michael Regan on his “Journey to Justice,” listening tour, sharing their stories and frustrations. Read more.

by Bobbi-Jeanne Misick, Gulf States Newsroom

Researchers Probing Effects of “Long COVID”; Cases and Deaths Continue Decline

While COVID-19 infection numbers have turned downward over the past couple of months, there are multiple symptoms of the virus that are causing problems over extended periods of time. Health officials are just starting to get a handle on how extensive the problem, appropriately called “long COVID,” is and what the longstanding effects are. Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of UAB Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases, said more research is being done to try to pin down what causes some COVID patients to suffer symptoms for months at a time. Loss of the senses of taste or smell are probably the best-known symptoms affecting those who were not hospitalized for COVID, but the range of symptoms is much wider than that for both those who were hospitalized or not. “It became pretty clear after the first wave, last spring, starting in the Northeast and in Europe, that there was a significant subset of people who really took a long time to get better from COVID, didn’t get better, or got better but had relapses of some very distinct symptom complexes,” Marrazzo said. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Gulf South Health Care Systems Are Failing to Equally Serve People of Color, Study Says

WBHM Health care systems across the United States are failing to equitably serve people of color. But, according to a new analysis, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama are among the states with the worst health outcomes for people of color — Black and Latinx residents, in particular. Read more.

by Shalina Chatlani, Gulf States Newsroom

Biden Budget Plan Could Close ‘Coverage Gap’ for 300,000 Alabamians

MONTGOMERY — A provision of the massive budget proposal being considered in Congress this week would offer as many as 300,000 low-income, uninsured Alabamians tax credits to pay for health coverage. Billed as President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan, the far-reaching proposal would spend $1.75 trillion on long-sought Democratic priorities, including universal pre-school, an expanded child tax credit, measures to combat climate change, low-income housing and reduced prescription drug costs. As written, the budget also extends tax credits for the uninsured in the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, including Alabama. The White House estimates that will allow 4 million Americans to afford private insurance through the healthcare.gov exchange, including 300,000 in Alabama. Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Selma, has pushed for expanded health coverage in the bill and worked with colleagues in other non-expansion states to see the provision included in the final House bill. “Alabama has over 300,000 people that fall in that gap, where they make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to afford health insurance premiums,” Sewell said in an interview. “We just made this our No. 1 ask. In every room that I’ve sat in, whether it’s at the White House or smaller tables here in Congress, health care is just my No. 1 issue. Read more.

by Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

An Unlikely Place, Lowndes County, Has the Highest COVID-19 Vaccination Rate in Alabama

At the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, Lowndes County was one of the hardest hit places in Alabama. So when the vaccine became available, doses were rushed to Lowndes and other Black Belt counties by the federal government. Churches and other community groups encouraged the vaccine, and as of November, more than 50% of Lowndes County residents are immunized. That’s higher than the state’s vaccination rate of 45%. Read more.

by Cody Short, WBHM

Medical West Begins Work on McCalla Hospital

Medical West Hospital Authority broke ground Wednesday on a 200-bed hospital with a five-story medical office building. The facility, on 4501 Bell Hill Road in McCalla, is expected to open in 2024 and will replace the authority’s current hospital. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch