WBHM Alabama will likely receive its first shipment of a COVID-19 vaccine in January, according to health care experts. It was previously predicted that Alabama would receive the vaccine in December. Read more.
The Jefferson County Commission is expected Thursday to amend its disbursement of Cares Act funds to include mortgage assistance for residents adversely affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic. At their last meeting, commissioners approved federal funds for use in helping residents with COVID-related expenses related to rent and utilities. “We’d like to amend that moving forward to include mortgage assistance also,” Commission President Jimmie Stephens said Tuesday. “This truly expands the scope of help to include all of our citizens. It is much needed and necessary. I think this is something that will extend the reach of our COVID funds and allow us to help many, many more people.” Read more.
The clock is ticking for Alabama to spend its remaining COVID-19 relief funds. In May, the state received nearly $2 billion from Congress. State finance officials are expected to give an update on the remaining funds this week. Meanwhile, dozens of organizations are urging Gov. Kay Ivey to use the money to help with immediate needs across the state. But getting aid to the organizations that need them is not an easy task. Alabama has more than $800 million of coronavirus relief funds left and it must be spent by the end of December. Any remaining money will go back to the federal government. Robyn Hyden, executive director of Alabama Arise, said the people who need this aid the most aren’t receiving it. Hyden said there’s a lot of red tape holding up the state’s relief funds. Read more.
Alabama's COVID-19 totals continued to grow Tuesday, with the case count surpassing a quarter million, as the state Department of Public Health added 3,376 cases and 60 deaths. The Health Department said the figures were inflated by the addition of cases that were unreported over the holiday weekend. Still, the daily averages for new cases, including for the Thanksgiving period, continued a steady rise. The state has counted 252,900 cases of the disease and 3,638 deaths since the pandemic began in March. The average case count for the past week stood at 2,291 a day, compared to 1,241 one month ago. The daily average for the past 14 days stood at 2,289, up from 1,190 on Nov. 1. Read more.
The continuing increase in COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths has prompted the Birmingham City School System to rethink its recent move to in-school classes and go back to remote learning. The system will return to remote instruction Monday, Dec. 7. Read more.
The number of COVID-19 patients in Alabama hospitals has shot to a record level with the resurgence of the disease across the state, prompting a UAB doctor to warn people against playing “Russian roulette” with their response to the pandemic. There were 1,717 patients in 104 hospitals across the state Monday, the Alabama Department of Public Health reported. That eclipsed the previous high of 1,613 patients on Aug. 6. Read more.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Alabama have reached critical levels again, straining health care facilities and throwing Thanksgiving holiday plans into disarray. In the weekly BirminghamWatch analysis of data supplied by the Alabama Department of Public Health, the moving averages of both new cases and of COVID-related deaths have hit new all-time highs in the past two days, and the number of hospital beds filled with coronavirus patients is quickly approaching the levels seen during the peak this summer. Read more.
The intranasal coronavirus vaccination that was lab tested at the University of Alabama at Birmingham could go to human trials next month. Read more.
Religious communities are exploring new ways of observing religious holidays, as well as for presenting their regular weekly services, this year as the coronavirus pandemic resurges across the nation. Religious groups in Birmingham and across Alabama turned to Facebook, YouTube, Zoom and their own websites earlier this year when COVID-19 spread across the state. The recent rise in the number of cases of the disease has prolonged the use of those alternate methods of worship and has led to innovative ways of celebrating religious holidays. Read more.
Dr. Michael Saag with the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases said at a Friday press conference that Alabama residents should treat the fight against COVID-19 like it’s a real war. “We’re on a tour of duty right now, and we know our tour of duty ends by Thanksgiving next year. So what can we do to stay as healthy and, frankly, stay alive and survive this tour of duty and get home safe?” Saag asked. Jefferson County, like much of the state, is seeing a “staggering” number of new COVID-19 cases, said Saag. Health experts say the county is averaging more than 300 new cases each day; that’s three times the daily rate from September. Since March, Jefferson County has recorded about 30,000 cases and nearly 500 deaths related to the virus. Read more.
