State Health Officer: COVID-19 Cases Jump, ICU Beds Nearly Full
State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris delivers COVID-19 briefing, Aug. 6. 2021 – Alabama News Network
State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris held a briefing this morning on the status of COVID-19 in Alabama. While cases have jumped, so have the number of people deciding to get their vaccinations.
Harris says hospitalizations have jumped from under 200 a month ago to 1,848 as of yesterday. He says 37 of those patients are children. Hospitals are reporting that more than 95% of patients are unvaccinated.
Harris says hospitals report that 93% of beds in intensive care units are filled. He didn’t say how many of these patients are battling COVID-19 or something else.
He says the number of people getting vaccinated is rising. He says an average of 10,000 doses are being given out in recent days, and last Friday, 16,000 doses were administered, which is the highest since mid-May.
That means more than two million Alabamians have received one dose. More than 1.6 million have completed their doses.
“That’s encouraging,” Harris said. “That is still not where we’d like to be in terms of the United States. We’re still at or near the bottom in most ways you would measure that.
“That’s concerning because that just makes Alabama susceptible. We are worried that with large numbers of unvaccinated people, we’re going to continue to see the trends we’re seeing.”
Harris said it’s important to remember that someone who receives a first dose today won’t be fully protected for five to six weeks.
As for breakthrough cases among those fully vaccinated, Harris says there have been 6,427 in Alabama, or about .4%. He says there have been 26 deaths among those fully vaccinated, or .002%.
