January 20, 2021
This was a national day of renewal and democracy began to repair, yet the pandemic is still with us. There were 3,112 cases in Alabama (incl. 1,208 probables) and 9,530 tests, and a one-day positivity rate of 32.7%. Depending on your tracker, the average positivity rate for the last 7 days is between 28.4% and 31.1%. More of our fellow Alabamians reportedly died of COVID - 157 of them, including 30 in January, 12 in December, 25 in November and 26 in September.
This is the first day of full, genuine post-MLK weekend data and it all looks familiar. Indeed, 3,112 daily cases are nearly identical to the number of cases reported Saturday (3,153), and the positivity rate on Saturday (31-34%) is also nearly the same. I was hoping to see the daily cases decline, but it appears they have plateaued for now at around 3,000 per day.
The same cannot be said of hospitalizations, which saw dramatic improvement today - 2,522 current patients in 109 reporting hospitals, an average of 23.1 patients per hospital. On January 9, there were just 29.65 patients per hospital. This decline of 212 patients in a single day is a huge one-day drop. With average statewide ICU occupancy being at a record high 96%, this decline in hospitalizations is coming just in the nick of time.
As of late this afternoon, ADPH claims that Alabama has distributed 184.6K doses of 446.2K doses that the State has received to date (41.4%). The CDC says the State has received around 40K more doses than the State will acknowledge but, regardless, our State is among the bottom 5 states in the nation in terms of the percentage of vaccines distributed. The national average is 50%.
More important to me is the percentage of Alabama residents who have received a shot - and, again, Alabama is at or near the bottom of state rankings. The national average for persons who have received at least 1 shot is 4.3%, according to the CDC, while Alabama’s percentage appears to be close to 3%.
The NY Times is reporting that there are now 30 states (including Alabama, as of Monday) that are vaccinating 75+ year-olds who do not require long-term care. 22 states are now vaccinating persons who are aged 70 and older, while 14 states have moved on to 65+ year-olds, including Florida, Texas, NY, NJ, California, Illinois, Michigan, NC, Georgia and Mississippi. Alabama has given no indication of when 65 year-olds may expect to become eligible.
As we wait to be vaccinated, it is more important than ever to convince friends and family of the importance of wearing masks in public. Although President Biden has signed an Executive Order encouraging the wearing of masks for 100 days, and requiring masks to be worn on airplanes and in Federal buildings, responsible behavior will become the norm only when people become convinced it is important. We have to continue to do our part. Please stay vigilant. The totals:
1/7 - 5046
1/8 - 5057
1/9 - 4863
1/10 - 2750
1/11 - 2100
1/12 - 3848
1/13 - 3147
1/14 - 3588
1/15 - 2945
1/16 - 3153
1/17 - 1917
1/18 - 1430
1/19 - 2515
1/20 - 3112
Jefferson County’s rate of infection has definitely improved lately. The County reported 288 new cases today and it has had 63 cases per 100K population over the last 7 days. Both numbers are significantly below their peak earlier this month.