June 16, 2020 - Dexamethasone
Dexamethasone
June 16, 2020
Today’s COVID-19 data provide a great example of why it is important to look beyond the headline if you really want to know how the virus is progressing. ADPH reported 640 new cases, which is comparable to yesterday’s total (657) but lower than the previous four days. Virtually every other statistic is headed in the wrong direction.
Take testing, for instance. Only 2,742 tests were reported today, down from 5,219 yesterday and just one-third the number of tests performed (8,156) exactly one week ago. Perhaps Trump expected red state governors to listen when he recently said, “If we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any.”
If cases remain level but testing plummets, that’s a good sign the positivity rate will spike. Sure enough, that is reflected in today’s data, where the 7-day average positivity rate soared to 14.48%, the highest since early April. This is well above WHO’s recommended 5% positivity rate and a clear indication that the virus is spreading rapidly.
Daily hospitalizations also soared to 56, the highest in Alabama since April 25 - and the second highest on record. Likewise, total confirmed hospitalizations were 640, nearly equalling the all-time high of 647 last Thursday. It is no surprise that UAB reported its highest number of coronavirus patients since the pandemic began.
On another somber note, Alabama recorded 11 deaths, a return to our daily average after three days of fewer deaths. This morning, the results of a large British study were announced, showing the steroid dexamethasone significantly increases survival rates of COVID patients with severe respiratory symptoms. As such methods of treatment continue to improve with experience, we have reason to hope that more and more deaths will be prevented in the future.
Here are the 14-day totals in Alabama:
6/3 - 85
6/4 - 221
6/5 - 640
6/6 - 458
6/7 - 457
6/8 - 425
6/9 - 497
6/10 - 567
6/11 - 856
6/12 - 865
6/13 - 891
6/14 - 1,041
6/15 - 657
6/16 - 640
For the first time ever, Tuscaloosa Co. led the state with 63 cases, followed closely by Jefferson Co. with 62 and Montgomery Co. with 51. It is noteworthy that Montgomery’s new cases have decreased. Madison Co. saw only 11 new cases, suggesting that the Huntsville area’s infection rate may be abating.