In Alabama, COVID-19 is taking a significantly greater toll on black residents than on whites and the population in general, with a higher rate of disease incidence and a higher rate of fatalities as a result.

And what’s happening here reflects what’s happening all over the country, as acknowledged by a growing chorus of medical experts who are pointing out that COVID-19 is having a pronounced impact on the black community compared to the population in general.

For many people this revelation comes as a shock. Not so for Dr. Mona Fouad, director of the UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center, who has developed years of research telling her to expect this pandemic to hit black communities harder.
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CORONAVIRUS
The Rumor: Black Americans Are Not Affected as Much by the Coronavirus Pandemic.

As evidence mounts that black Americans are feeling a disproportionate weight of the coronavirus pandemic, some are unaware of an ironic rumor that has now been debunked.

That rumor held that black people were immune or more resistant to COVID-19.

Citylab.com characterized the rumor as an attempt at humor, with the March 14 headline, “Why You Should Stop Joking That Black People are Immune to Coronavirus.”

But the rumor persists. According to the newspaper The Baltimore Sun, as recently as April 14, “Baltimore officials are planning a targeted ad campaign to reach the city’s black residents in hopes of combating rumors that black people cannot get the new coronavirus, the city’s health commissioner announced Tuesday.”
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Prior to March and the COVID-19 outbreak in Alabama, Dr. Beverly Jordan’s medical practice in Enterprise did not conduct online telemedicine visits with patients.

But in a recent week, Professional Medical Associates conducted 30 remote visits with patients who either suspected they had COVID-19 or have pre-existing conditions and were trying to avoid the virus by staying home.

“This outbreak has clearly pushed telemedicine in this state,” Jordan said.
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The head of the Alabama Hospital Association says he’s confident the state’s hospitals will not go over capacity in dealing with COVID-19 patients. 
“I’m feeling optimistic that as long as we practice social distancing, we’re going to be okay as a state,” said Dr. Donald Williamson, president and CEO of the association. 
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Dr. Selwyn Vickers, UAB senior vice-president and dean of the School of Medicine, is a busy person as he deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. But BirminghamWatch caught a few minutes with him Thursday to ask a quick series of questions. He said precautions being taken to stem the spread of COVID-19 have virtually shut down many research projects. The hospital is lower than usual on some supplies, but the stock is generally holding its own. And the pandemic is teaching administrators lessons that could be useful with operations going forward. Read more.

In four days, coronavirus is expected to peak in Alabama. That’s according to projections that predict the state will have its highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations on that day. As of Thursday afternoon, there were 553 hospitalizations related to COVID-19, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. UAB Hospital has been preparing to ensure it has enough ICU beds and ventilators ahead of Monday’s peak. For more, we checked in for a Q & A with Dr. Sarah Nafziger, an emergency physician and co-director of UAB Hospital’s Emergency Management Committee about how things are looking.
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Hospital chaplains usually show comfort to patients or their families, but at UAB that has changed. During the coronavirus pandemic, the pastoral care team spends a lot of time counseling health care workers who are on the front lines. Read more.

The state’s largest health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, continues to waive cost-sharing, including co-pays, for those who need treatment for COVID-19.

“We want our members to be assured that we are here for them as we navigate through this unprecedented time,” said Tim Vines, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama’s president, in a press release. “For our members diagnosed with COVID-19, we want them to have peace of mind knowing they have access to the care they need.”
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An Auburn University professor will soon begin testing new COVID-19 vaccines to see how they work alone or with other ingredients to help slow the spread of the virus.

Dr. Constantinos Kyriakis, an associate professor for the College of Veterinary Medicine, will head the testing while working with Professor Ted Ross, the director of the Center for Vaccines and Immunology at the University of Georgia. Kryiakis will begin animal trials to investigate the effectiveness of different vaccine candidates.

The testing will involve vaccine candidates’ effectiveness at triggering an immune system response in pigs. The tests will see what other ingredients could trigger a greater immune system response, in order to make the most effective vaccine.
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