Daily News Digest – August 8, 2021

1. Racing toward a new record

• Alabama is racing toward virus numbers it last saw at the peak of the pandemic, with 2,134 COVID-19 patients in state hospitals Monday and only 6% of intensive care unit beds available.
• Nearly one-third of the hospitalized virus patients, or 628, are in intensive care units and 318 patients are on ventilators. Williamson said 42% of intensive care unit beds in the state are now occupied by someone with COVID-19.
• 33 of those patients are children.
• On July 4, there were 213 Alabamians hospitalized with COVID-19. That’s a 1000% jump in just over a month.
• Medical officials have said low vaccination rates and the highly contagious delta variant have combined to cause an explosion of cases.
• “It’s like the California wildfires. We have the perfect environment,” said Dr. Don Williamson, Alabama’s former state health officer who now heads the Alabama Hospital Association.
• Read more from Kim Chandler HERE.

 

2. Unaccompanied minors in Alabama increase with national trend

• The number of young immigrants taken into custody at the U.S. southern border and sent to sponsors in Alabama has spiked from October through June to 1,062.
• Nationwide, 59,161 of the youth were released to sponsors between October and the end of June, according to federal Office of Refugee Resettlement data. Only 10 states have received more of the immigrant youth than Alabama. The 2021 totals nationwide and in Alabama are set to outpace fiscal year 2019 highs of 72,837 and 1,111, respectively.
• When minors not accompanied by a parent or legal guardian are apprehended at the border, federal law requires that the ORR, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, feed, shelter and provide medical care to them. The office then releases them to sponsors — usually family members — while the minors await immigration proceedings.
• Most of them are teen boys from Central America.
• The increase has gotten the attention of a few state leaders. Sen. Arthur Orr this spring again asked the Catholic Social Services, which helps settle the young immigrants, to better spread them around the state so that their educational needs aren’t placed on a few school systems.
• Read more from Mary Sell HERE.

 

3. Senate inches toward passage $1T infrastructure bill

• By the time you read this, the Senate may well have passed the $1 trillion bi-partisan infrastructure passage.
• At last count, the Senate was supposed to vote at 10 a.m. Central time on final passage of the bill. It could get as many as 70 votes, a rarity in today’s bitterly partisan Washington.
• Read more about the state of play HERE.
• Read more about what’s in the actual bill HERE.

 

4. DOD to require vaccines

• Members of the U.S. military will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine beginning next month under a plan laid out by the Pentagon Monday and endorsed by President Joe Biden. In memos distributed to all troops, top Pentagon leaders said the vaccine is a necessary step to maintain military readiness.
• Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the mid-September deadline could be accelerated if the vaccine receives final FDA approval or infection rates continue to rise.
• Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Armed Services Committee said vaccines have proven to be effective.
• Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., the top ranking Republican HASC member, said the vaccine will help protect troops who live in cramped conditions and don’t have the option to telework.
• “We have already seen COVID-19 affect our readiness downrange. Our adversaries will take any advantage they can over us. We must not allow COVID-19 to be a hindrance on our force. Secretary Austin earlier confirmed that, as of Mid-July, over 70% of active-duty troops had received at least one vaccine shot. That is encouraging news and I hope that number reaches 100% quickly.”
• Read more HERE.

 

5. Matthew Hammett announces run for HD 92

• Covington County businessman Matthew Hammett today announced his campaign for House District 92, making him the second Republican candidate to enter the race.
• Hammett is a relative of former Alabama Speaker of the House Seth Hammett, who represented the district.
• In the GOP primary for the open seat, Hammett joins Greg White, the Covington County Commission Chairman who announced his candidacy last month.
• They are running for the seat currently occupied by Rep. Mike Jones, the Rules Committee Chairman who last month decided to seek the State Senate seat being vacated by State Sen. Jimmy Holly, R-Elba.
• Read more from Caroline Beck HERE.

Headlines