Kay Ivey, the Governor of Alabama, who has lifted the COVID-19 mask mandate, has declared businesses can fully reopen, and is preparing to end enhanced unemployment for citizens are all statically premature moves.
According to the New York Times vaccine tracker, Alabama comes in second place, just 36% behind Mississippi, regarding the number of adults who have received at least one shot to fight against the Coronavirus.
This research, according to Alreporter.com, has left UAB infectious disease researcher Dr. Michael Saag worried that Alabama could start to see a rise in cases and the number of deaths and hospitalizations tick upward for those who are not vaccinated this summer.
Dr. Saag stated there is no difference between right now and December of last year for those who have not been vaccinated.
He continued to explain that being vaccinated now is even more critical as there is a variant of the disease spreading throughout Alabama that is even more contagious.
He gave a visual of just how contagious it is by comparing it to parts of the world such as Africa and India, where we have seen cases explode drastically due to them not having access to the vaccine.
In April, Alabama reached a peak of between 15000 and 17000 vaccinations per day. That number has now drastically diminished to less than 1000 a day. That alone has stirred a level of immediate concern due to Alabama ranking nearly the lowest in the country for shots being administered.
Dr. Saag tried to give reasoning to this tremendous down turn by stating, “Maybe it’s because they don’t feel like they’re at risk of getting sick. Maybe it’s because they think we’re over this. Maybe because they misinterpreted the CDC guidance on vaccinated people shedding their mask.”
Alabama as of last week started to report an increase in cases.
The U.S. Overall has seen a downtick in cases, but next to low ranking Mississippi and Alabama, Tennessee lands third.
