Science

Nurses in Alabama Hospitals Feeling the Strain from COVID-19 Surge

Eleven months ago, Anderson Lopez Castillo was a recent graduate of Auburn University’s School of Nursing. His first job was in the Covid unit at UAB Hospital. “It has been a roller coaster ride of emotions, and emotionally draining,” Castillo said Thursday. “I am doing everything that I can for this patient, and the staff is doing everything they can, and we just can’t get ahead.” He said the worst part is losing a patient and then walking into another patient’s room. “You have to think this patient may have a shot at getting out of here.” Nurses in hospitals across Alabama, and particularly those in intensive care units, are feeling growing pressure as COVID-19 cases surge, complicated by the ease with which the delta variant spreads. With one of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation, Alabama has seen a dramatic increase in recent weeks in the number of new cases and the number of patients in hospitals. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Commission on Pandemic Response Narrows Scope; Federal Help Sent to South Alabama Hospitals

MONTGOMERY -- The commission charged with analyzing Alabama’s response to the COVID-19  on Wednesday agreed on questions to state agencies about how they reacted early in the pandemic. The commission’s work comes as the COVID-19 delta variant continues to hospitalize more Alabamians, 2,845 as of Wednesday, 41 of them children, according to the Alabama Hospital Association. Across the state, 840 people with COVID are in intensive care units, making up 52% of ICUs’ populations. Hospitals are struggling to staff the needed ICU beds. State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris told the commission that a federal team of health care workers is being sent to a hospital in Dothan this weekend to handle the record-high number of COVID hospitalizations they’re seeing. Read more.

by Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News

Leave Situation Could Become ‘Crisis’ for Some State Employees

As COVID-19 cases continue to increase in Alabama, a state employee group is asking for flexibility for workers who may have to quarantine. The Alabama State Employees Association is asking state agencies and departments to be “as creative as they can in helping all state employees through this pandemic,” Executive Director Mac McArthur told Alabama Daily News. “If this goes on for a while or gets worse, I would say this becomes a crisis issue for some of our members,” McArthur said. If in another month the delta virus is still increasing in case numbers and causing schools to close, “then I think our members will be looking to the administration (for assistance),” he said. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

ADN Poll: Most Republicans Trust Vaccines, Value Health Care

MONTGOMERY — A majority of Alabama Republicans trust the COVID-19 vaccines and are concerned about the delta variant currently spreading across the state, according to a new Alabama Daily News poll. The poll also showed a strong majority of GOP voters believe all Alabamians should have access to quality health care, and close to a

by Todd Stacy, Alabama Daily News

As COVID Cases Rise, Emergency Leave Unavailable for Teachers

Most Alabama school teachers who are temporarily sent home this school year because they contract COVID-19, are exposed to it or are caring for their own children in quarantine will have to use their personal leave time to do it. A few weeks into the academic year, some schools have  had to move students temporarily to virtual learning as COVID-19 cases prevent in-person learning. The Alabama Education Association is asking local systems to extend paid emergency leave to staff. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

COVID-19 Cases Level Off After Spike; FDA Fully Approves Pfizer Vaccine

The number of new COVID-19 cases in Alabama has dropped for the past two days, but the state is still averaging more than 4,000 cases a day. After reporting a record daily high 6,210 cases on Saturday, the Alabama Department of Public Health listed 3,315 cases in its update on Sunday and 2,588 on Monday. The average for the past seven days stands at 4,041 cases a day. Alabama has recorded 665,653 cases since the pandemic began in March 2020. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Alabama Hits All-Time High for New Daily COVID Cases, Death Toll Reaches 12,000

For the first time since the COVID outbreak began, Alabama has recorded more than 6,000 new cases in a single day. The Alabama Department of Public Health reported on Saturday that 6,210 additional cases had been diagnosed, bringing the cumulative total for the pandemic to 659,750. The daily count broke the old record of 5,498 cases set Jan. 5. The 7-day moving average of new cases also reached a new all-time high, with 4,549.29 cases per day tallied over the past week. The previous peak of 4,280 cases was set Jan. 10. Saturday’s average jumped by a whopping 887.14 cases over Friday’s report, the largest day-over-day increase since the pandemic began. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Amid ICU Shortage, Alabama Hospitals See Record-Breaking Pediatric Caseload

Alabama's hospitals are caring for more children with COVID-19 than ever before, the latest development in an increasingly dire situation for the state's health care system. Read more.

by Mary Scott Hodgin, WBHM

COVID-19 Case Numbers, Hospitalizations Continue to Rise

There were 3,799 new cases of COVID-19 in Alabama on Friday, raising the overall total to 653,540, the state Department of Public Health reported. The state has averaged 3,662 additional cases a day over the past week. There were additional 28 deaths from the virus reported by ADPH.  The seven-day average of Covid deaths is 25 a day. Alabama now has 2,702 Covid patients in hospitals across the state. That number has risen steadily from that total of 1,451 reported on Aug. 1. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald

Alabama Eighth for COVID Deaths

Alabama ranks eighth among states with the highest daily death rates per capita from COVID-19 in the past week. The state has had 27 deaths per 100,000 residents. Read more.

by Virginia MacDonald