Tag: health care
Making Sense of Alabama’s Coronavirus Numbers
If you’re following the coronavirus pandemic, you’re probably seeing a lot of numbers: confirmed cases, number of tests, deaths. The Alabama Department of Public Health has a map to keep track of it all. But if you’re tracking the coronavirus numbers carefully, you might notice they don’t always move the way you’d expect them to. For instance, the number of confirmed cases goes up while the number of tests don’t. Deaths are reported in the media, but they don’t show up in the state’s total. It’s all a product of how the state’s numbers are gathered and the time it takes to ensure they’re correct. Read more.
Alabama COVID-19 Death Toll Rises to 13, Five More Being Checked
Alabama’s death toll from COVID-19 rose this morning from six to 13, and the state Public Health Department reported it was looking into five more deaths of people who had been diagnosed with the disease.
The department said there have been three deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in Chambers County and two deaths each in Lee and Shelby counties. These counties reported one death each: Jackson, Lauderdale, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery and Tallapoosa. Officials did not say where the other five deaths occurred. The department verifies the cause of death before adding a case to its official lisst.
Read more.
Alabama’s COVID-19 Death Toll Rises to 13
The Alabama Public Health Department raised the state’s death toll from COVID-19 this morning from six to 13 and reported a total of 949 confirmed cases of the disease in the state.
The department said there have been three deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in Chambers County and two deaths each in Lee and Shelby counties. These counties reported one death each: Jackson, Lauderdale, Madison, Mobile, Montgomery and Tallapoosa.
Read more.
Alabama COVID-19 Numbers: 935 Confirmed Cases, 6 Deaths
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose by more than 100 to 935 today, the Alabama Public Health Department reported. Six deaths from the virus have been confirmed by state health officials.
The coronavirus has now been reported in 59 of the state’s 67 counties. While the official death count stood at six, more deaths have been reported by hospitals; the state has a process to verify the virus was to blame before including deaths in the official numbers.
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Coronavirus Scams Peddling Fake Cures and Work-at-Home Schemes on the Rise
There’s been a sharp uptick in malicious online activity in Alabama and elsewhere in recent weeks. Scammers are increasingly using fake emails, social media posts, and text messages to steal passwords, money, and personal information from unsuspecting users.
Gary Warner, head of research in computer forensics at UAB, says scams around COVID-19 have proliferated. Retailers are peddling all sorts of bogus remedies. Spam email subject lines say things like ‘Are you safe from Corona?’ and ‘Would you like to protect your family from Corona?’ Following these links can redirect users to download a program that infects a computer with malware to steal passwords. Warner says high anxiety around coronavirus has created the perfect panic moment for scammers. Read more.
UAB to Test Potential COVID-19 Vaccine
The University of Alabama at Birmingham and the biopharmaceutical company Altimmune Inc. will test a potential vaccine for COVID-19, the university announced today.
Testing of the vaccine, AdCOVID, which was developed by the company based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, will begin in mice during the second quarter of this year. That phase of testing, designed to show the immune response to the drug in mice, is expected to take one to two months, UAB said in announcing the collaboration.
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Three Deaths, 604 Confirmed COVID-19 Cases in Alabama
Three people have died of COVID-19 in Alabama, the Alabama Public Health Department reported today as the number of confirmed cases of the disease rose to 604 in 52 of the state’s 67 counties.
All three of the deaths were in the Tennessee Valley in north Alabama — one each in Jackson, Lauderdale and Madison counties.
The Birmingham area continued to be the hot spot, with 179 cases in Jefferson County and 67 in Shelby County, according to the Health Department.
Read more.
UAB Hospital Opens Appointment-Only Test Site for COVID-19 Monday
Starting Monday, UAB hospital, in partnership with the Jefferson County Department of Health, will offer appointment-only testing for COVID-19. Officials say the drive-thru testing center will be located at University Blvd and 22nd Street South, at a former Southern Research Institute site. Read more.
Use of Telehealth Is Growing in Alabama to Combat Spread of Coronovirus
Telehealth is playing growing role in helping to identify and treat people with the coronavirus, and to combat its spread across Alabama.
Healthcare providers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, along with those at least one other network serving portions of the state, are expanding the use of cell phones, computers and other devices to connect patients with physicians to screen for COVID-19 and other illnesses. In addition, Medicare and Blue Cross have expanded their coverage for telehealth services. Read more.
Avoid These Myths About the Coronavirus
Desperate times call for desperate measures, the director of UAB’s Infectious Diseases said Monday in response to a question about various rumored remedies and treatments for the coronavirus that are being bandied about.
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo said she has heard about supposed remedies ranging from gargling with Listerine to taking plant-based medicines.
She warned that suggested ways to avoid or treat the virus that don’t come from the medical world “are probably not credible.”
And there are many myths out there, such as statements that “everyone with COVID-19 dies.” That’s not true — or even close to being true.
