The improving numbers of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in Alabama over the past weeks is an apparent reflection of the growing rate of vaccinations in the state.

Alabama ranked last among the states in percentage of fully vaccinated individuals at times during the summer, with about one-third of the population having gotten the full course of COVID shots. That figure has risen to 45.5%, ranking the state eighth from the bottom, according listings by The New York Times.

Over the past week, The Times reported, Alabama ranked 20th nationally in the average daily number of new cases per 100,000 population. The state was averaging 1,977 new cases daily for the week that ended on Friday.

The Alabama Department of Public on Saturday reported 1,480 new cases of the coronavirus, raising the overall total to 799,800 over the course of the pandemic. The state was averaging 4,705 cases a day one month ago.

Alabama’s COVID death toll rose by 77 in Saturday’s ADPH update, bringing the total ot 14,469, an average of 64 a day over the past week. A week ago, the average was 101 deaths per day.

The number of individuals hospitalized for the coronavirus stood at 1,232 on Friday, including 29 pediatric cases. The Alabama Hospital Association said 15% of inpatients were fully vaccinated. There were 1,669 COVID inpatients at Alabama hospitals a week earlier and 2,,890 a month ago.