Science

Alabama’s Unemployment Rate Drops, but Still Above Pre-COVID Level

Alabama’s unemployment rate in the first month of 2021 was 4.3%, down from a revised December 2020 level of 4.7% and up from the pre-COVID January 2020 rate of 2.7% “As we begin a new year, it’s encouraging to see our monthly unemployment rate drop, marking a new record low since the pandemic began,” Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “While we are still not where we were before this year of massive change, we are making progress.  More people were employed this month, and fewer were unemployed, which is always good news.” Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Increased Federal Funding Renews Medicaid Expansion Push

MONTGOMERY — The newest federal coronavirus relief bill's enactment has renewed calls to expand Alabama's Medicaid program. According to early estimates, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 could mean an additional $940 million over a two-year span for the Alabama Medicaid Agency if it were to expand. That's enough to exceed the full state cost of expanding the program for at least four years, supporters and policy groups say. Read more.

by Will Whatley and Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

COVID Vaccine Eligibility Expanding to Include Those 55 and Older

As of March 22, Alabama will expand coronavirus vaccine eligibility to include people ages 55 and older, people 16 and older who have high-risk medical conditions, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and additional critical workers. That’s about 2 million more people who will become eligible for the vaccine, while the state receives between 110,000 and 120,000 first doses of the vaccine each week, according to a statement released Friday by the Alabama Department of Public Health. Once the new categories are added, two-thirds of Alabama residents will be eligible for the vaccine. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

ADPH Reports 448 New Cases of COVID-19, 77 Deaths

The Alabama Department of Public Health reported 448 new cases of COVID-19 and 77 deaths from the disease in Friday's daily update. There have been 502,711 cases and 10,299 deaths in the state since the pandemic began a year ago. The state has averaged 546 cases a day over the past week, the lowest since an average of 539 a year last June 11. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Alabama to Receive $4B From Biden Relief and Stimulus Plan

MONTGOMERY — Alabama is set to receive more than $4 billion from the COVID-19 relief and stimulus package enacted this week. The bill, titled the American Rescue Plan Act, was passed by Congress this week and signed into law by President Joe Biden on Thursday. Spending in the bill totals $1.9 trillion, including $350 billion directed to state and local governments. According to the Alabama Department of Finance, Alabama's share of that will be $4.043 billion. Department spokesman Susan Wilhelm confirmed to Alabama Daily News that of that money: $2.1 billion is earmarked for a state relief fund; $192 million will go toward a state capital projects fund; $417 million will go to metropolitan cities; $362 million will go to non-county municipalities; $951 million will go to counties. Read more.

by Todd Stacy and Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

One Year in, Bama Tracker Creator Considers Future of COVID Data Site

Saturday will mark one year since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Alabama, ushering in a year like no other. But David Marconnet’s experience during the pandemic is unique. The Huntsville software developer started a side project called Bama Tracker. It’s a website that displays public information about the pandemic in a clear, digestible way. That site has become a go-to place for professionals and amateurs to find data about the coronavirus in Alabama. Its reach has far surpassed what Marconnet though would happen when he started a year ago. “My expectation was it would probably be a couple months, maybe two or three months, and that we could potentially be through (the pandemic),” Marconnet said. By May, he created social media accounts for Bama Tracker. Reporters soon came calling. Marconnet declined interview requests initially, having never done media interviews. But after deciding to give it a shot, an interview ran on TV in Birmingham and changed everything. Read more.

by Andrew Yeager, WBHM

March 11, 2020: The Day COVID-19 Became Real for America, and What’s Happened Since

The first time the world found out about the coronavirus now known as COVID-19 was through an announcement of the first case in the Wuhan province of China on the last day of 2019. That was the start of the virus that has now spread around the world. But COVID-19 didn’t really hit home for Americans until March 11, 2020 — a day that changed the country. One year ago Thursday, the World Health Organization declared the fast-spreading outbreak to be a pandemic. Before then, there were more cases in Europe than China, with Italy hardest hit. That soon changed. The WHO announcement didn’t make many waves in the United States that morning. But later that evening, it was the sports world that gave Americans their first glimpse of how everyone’s world was about to turn upside down. Viewers on ESPN saw history unfold at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, where three referees from the National Basketball Association were in an intense courtside conversation with Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder and his Oklahoma City Thunder counterpart, Billy Donovan. Minutes before their teams were scheduled to play, Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made a nearly instantaneous decision to shut the entire league down, sending fans in Oklahoma City home with scant explanation. Other leagues quickly followed suit. The National Hockey League suspended play the next day, Major League Baseball canceled the start of spring training, Major League Soccer halted its 2021 season two weeks after it began. The PGA Tour halted the Players Championship golf tournament after one round of play, and NASCAR called off its weekend of racing at Atlanta. College sports were also stopped, with the NCAA men’s and women’s national basketball championships eventually canceled and all spring sports wiped out entirely. The shutdowns marked the beginning of a series of events that changed virtually every facet of American life. In the days to come, schools of all levels were closed while administrators figured out what to do next. Churches moved their weekend services to livestreaming video before empty sanctuaries or canceled the services altogether; participation plummeted in the weeks to come. Governments put severe limitations on business operations, especially retailers and hospitality industries. Restaurants, in particular, suddenly saw customers banned from their dining rooms, forcing some to close — sometimes permanently. Food and grocery delivery became the norm, with companies such as DoorDash and GrubHub thriving while other businesses were in peril. Read more.

by Robert Carter

Another Drop in Hospitalizations, Daily Averages for COVID-19 in Alabama

The daily average number of COVID-19 cases and number of people hospitalized for the coronavirus in Alabama continued to decline in Thursday's report by the state Department of Public Health. The agency's daily update showed 865 new cases, bringing the total to 502,263 over the course of the pandemic. The state has averaged 598 cases a day for the past week. The number of patients being treated in Alabama hospitals for the coronavirus dropped to 448, the lowest since  count of 440 last May 24. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Birmingham VA Offers Vaccines to Eligible Veterans of All Ages

The Birmingham Veterans Affairs Health Care System is now vaccinating veterans of all ages at four COVID-19 vaccine clinics around the state. Birmingham VA officials announced the eligibility expansion on Wednesday. Many VA health care sites around the country follow eligibility guidelines outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, giving priority to veterans

by Gigi Douban, WBHM

Alabama’s Hospitalization Rate for Coronavirus Drops to Lowest Level Since Last May

The number of people hospitalized in Alabama for COVID-19 has dropped to its lowest level since last May, according to the state Department of Public Health's daily update on Wednesday. The report showed 468 people were being treated in 104 hospitals around the state for the coronavirus on Tuesday, the lowest number of inpatients since a count of 450 on May 25 of last year. UAB Hospital on Tuesday reported 107 patients who had been admitted for the disease, down from a high of 285 on Jan. 3. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch