Alabama’s COVID Vaccination Rate Increases
After a slow start, Alabama’s rollout of the coronavirus vaccine is picking up pace, according to state Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris.
“Alabama as a whole has done a great job,” Harris said during a media call Thursday. “The past five weeks, we’ve given out well over 100,000 vaccines. And last week, even with all of the weather delays, it was our second best week that we have had so far.”
The state has administered more than 800,000 doses. Harris said federal programs are helping to increase supply and reach more residents.
Walmart, which recently began vaccinating residents in 74 Alabama locations, announced this week that it will soon expand to more stores. CVS Pharmacy also began offering vaccine appointments Thursday in select cities around the state.
Harris said starting next week, the state expects to receive anywhere from 90,000 to 100,000 doses a week from the federal government, but that still isn’t enough to vaccinate the close to 1.5 million residents who are currently eligible.
Alabama could get a boost if the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine, which is easier to store and administer, is granted emergency use authorization by the federal government.
“One shot opens up a lot of doors for us,” Harris said. “There are a lot of logistical problems that get solved by having a single dose vaccine.”
Harris said he has heard concerns about the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but said it is as effective at preventing death and serious illness from COVID-19 as the Pfizer and Moderna products.
Birmingham is 3rd worst in the Southeast for ozone pollution, new report says
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report shows some metro areas in the Gulf States continue to have poor air quality.
Why haven’t Kansas and Alabama — among other holdouts — expanded access to Medicaid?
Only 10 states have not joined the federal program that expands Medicaid to people who are still in the "coverage gap" for health care
Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing
Thousands of ordinary people who helped clean up after the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico say they got sick. A court settlement was supposed to help compensate them, but it hasn’t turned out as expected.
Q&A: How harm reduction can help mitigate the opioid crisis
Maia Szalavitz discusses harm reduction's effectiveness against drug addiction, how punitive policies can hurt people who need pain medication and more.
The Gulf States Newsroom is hiring a Community Engagement Producer
The Gulf States Newsroom is seeking a curious, creative and collaborative professional to work with our regional team to build up engaged journalism efforts.
Gambling bills face uncertain future in the Alabama legislature
This year looked to be different for lottery and gambling legislation, which has fallen short for years in the Alabama legislature. But this week, with only a handful of meeting days left, competing House and Senate proposals were sent to a conference committee to work out differences.
