March 25, 2021 - Pedal to the Metal

Pedal to the Metal

March 25, 2021

Over the last three days, Alabama has averaged 453 cases per day, including 427 cases today (incl. 120 probables). In the same period, the State has averaged 3,521 tests per day, producing a 12.9% positivity rate over 3 days, roughly equivalent to the positivity rate for the last 7 days. Although Alabama’s daily cases fell approximately 18% compared to the prior week, so too have the number of tests, causing the positivity rate to barely budge.

Nationally, as the total number of confirmed Covid cases nears 30 million, new infections are trending upward in a majority of states despite the escalating vaccination campaign. Cases rose by 4 percent nationwide over the past week, with states such as Michigan, Colorado and Connecticut all reporting spikes of more than 30 percent. According to many experts, this new uptick is likely because of the spread of new variants. When students and families return from Spring Break, we may see a similar upward trend unfold here in Alabama.

As for vaccines, an average of 25.5K doses per day were administered in Alabama this week, a 6% decrease over the week before. Alabama has administered at least one dose to 1,019,858 people, covering 25.9% of the eligible population (everyone 16 and older) and 20.8% of the State’s entire population (national average = 25.7%). At least 558,815 people have been fully vaccinated, or 14.3% of the eligible population and 11.4% of the entire population (national average = 13.2%). 

The 6% decline in vaccine distribution for Alabama this week is cause for concern, especially since the production of vaccine doses has only increased.  It’s unclear if this decline is related to vaccine hesitancy among currently eligible groups. If so, Alabama must immediately expand eligibility to everyone age 16 and older rather than hold doses in inventory. So far, 27 states have expanded to universal eligibility or have publicly stated their intention to do so by mid-April. Alabama is not yet one of those states, although it has indicated it will do so by May 1. 

We are entering a critical stage in the race between variants and the vaccines. The more people who are vaccinated immediately, the lower the possibility that variants will arise and trigger another national wave like the one that is affecting Europe now. We owe it to the memories of the 560,000 Americans who have died in this pandemic to keep the pedal to the metal. There is simply no excuse for weekly vaccinations to decline from one week to the next. The totals:

3/12-  448

3/13-  594

3/14-  368

3/15-  549 (exclusive of backlog)

3/16-  488

3/17-  558 (exclusive of backlog)

3/18-  572

3/19-  531

3/20-  508

3/21-  373

3/22-  319

3/23-   10 (due to “technical difficulties”)

3/24-  922

3/25-  427