Auburn, Ala. (EETV) - With COVID-19 cases spiking with the Delta variant, you and the people around you should stay aware on how it is affecting Alabama residents.
The slight dip in COVID-19 hospitalizations at the EAMC and EAMC-Lanier reads a number of 69 on the morning of August 19th, compared to the 72 of the day before. The number of COVID patients on ventilators remained at 8.
Of the 69 hospitalized patients, 54 (78.2%) were unvaccinated while 11 (15.9%) were fully vaccinated and 4 (5.7%) were partially vaccinated.
"As Dr. Maldonado mentioned yesterday, we do expect COVID hospitalizations to continue an overall upward trend over the next few weeks," stated John Atkinson, East Alabama Health spokesman. "This would appear to just be a one-day decrease, but any day that isn't an increase is welcomed."
So, how is the Delta variant different from what we were already facing? To put it simply, it is more contagious and is affecting younger age groups, according to a month and a half of data from East Alabama Health's COVID reports.
Patients in the 60-69 and 80-plus range have seen a significant decline in hospitalizations of at least 6.5% for each group. However, the most affected age groups now are 40-59 and 25-39.
"Obviously, this is a relatively small block of time in a pandemic that has now affected our state for about 17 months," said Atkinson on the Delta variant, "but it does reflect the arrival of the Delta variant in our area and this 4th peak of the pandemic at our hospitals."
The latest state update on COVID-19 reads:
- 980 new confirmed cases as of August 19th
- Positivity testing rate is 2.7%
- 2744 admitted COVID patients admitted on August 19th, as opposed to 179 on July 3
- There are 932 hospital ventilator resources available, the lowest number since February 1, 2021
- 56 confirmed COVID deaths in Alabama on August 18
For more information on COVID news, go to https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/covid19/.
