By TODD STACY, Alabama Daily News
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Sunday marked two years since COVID-19 was first detected in Alabama, a milestone that comes as most metrics show the virus receding in the state.
State Health officer Dr. Scott Harris said the anniversary offers a way to look back at what has transpired but also look forward toward a more hopeful year ahead.
“The first case we had in Alabama came on the 13th, which was a Friday the 13th and it’s kind of felt like Friday the 13th ever since,” Harris quipped on APT’s Capitol Journal.
“Finally, we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. There are a lot of ways, Todd, that this has been a tremendous success. Just going from a disease that was completely unknown to the human race to having safe, effective vaccines available a year later is really remarkable. It really is incredible. But, as you know, there was just an incredible toll that had to be paid.”
As of Sunday, 18,832 deaths in Alabama have been attributed to COVID-19, including moire than 2,000 this year so far.
Hospitalizations are way down compared to late January when the omicron variant was spiking. Just 242 Alabamians are hospitalized with COVID, down from almost 3,000 on January 25.
Harris urged Alabamians to keep receiving vaccines and booster shots to protect themselves as future variants and mutations are almost certain to spread.
“Being vaccinated and boosted is the single reason why those hospitalization numbers are down, ” he said. “I would just caution the people of Alabama to remember that just half our state is now vaccinated. Even with all those people who were infected in December or January, many of them are going to be susceptible again within a few months.
“We still have new variants developing because that’s what viruses do – they mutate to make themselves easier to spread around.”