Alabama is one of the lowest immunization rates in the United States.Now it’s starting to rise

According to a CNN analysis of data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the state’s seven-day average of daily vaccine doses on Thursday was approximately 13,301. This is an increase from a month ago when the average daily dose for 7 days was about 7,250 doses.

Whitehouse Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Seients said in a briefing Thursday that Alabama is “one of the few states to vaccinate people at a pace not seen since April.” ..

The state’s largest UAB hospital administered more than 3,000 shots a day in the spring. Vanessa Davis, a supervisor at the hospital’s injection clinic, told CNN a month ago that she had fallen to about 80 a day. Last week she said it was slightly higher, about 200 a day.

“[People]are vaccinated so that they can feel normal again,” Davis said when asked what changed his mind. Parents are worried about sending their children back to school this fall, and some will return to work for the first time in a year. According to Davis, others are tired of feeling trapped in their homes, perhaps just wanting to travel again.

But they are also afraid.

“They told us they were pretty healthy and never got sick before, and now they see people they love who know they get sick, hospitalized and sometimes die.” She told CNN. “And it scares them enough. It’s a turning point where they are ultimately more afraid of viruses than vaccines.”

So is Chan, who thought of his two-year-old daughter and his fetal son. She said she was asking about the Delta variant and how contagious it was every time the news was turned on. But it was her role as a mother that ultimately made her decision.

“If I get sick enough to take care of them, I won’t forgive myself,” she said.

Increasing cases and hospitalizations

Alabama, like many parts of the United States, is experiencing a surge in Covid-19 infections primarily due to highly infectious delta mutants.

According to an analysis of Johns Hopkins data, the 7-day average for new cases on Wednesday was about 2,622 reported cases per day, an increase of 131% from the 7-day average for new cases two weeks ago.

Hospitalizations are on the rise, with 1,965 hospitalizations reported Thursday, compared to 298 a month ago, according to Health and Human Services data.

Davis of UAB Hospital said the slow pace of vaccination was “frustrating” despite the ongoing threat of Covid-19. And she is worried that things will get worse.

The pace isn’t as good as it sounds, but Davis has hope.

“At this point, I feel that there are still many vaccines that meet the needs of current patients,” Davis said. “We really want to reach the point where we are short of vaccines, because that means we have vaccinated many people.”

In light of the surge, a group of Alabama hospital presidents, CEOs and other medical professionals issued a joint statement this week requesting Alabama residents to be vaccinated.

“We represent healthcare providers who have seen so many fellow citizens get sick and die from this disease, including children,” the group writes. “We will join everyone who wants this to go away, but it will take us all for it to happen. Rethink their decisions for those who are not currently vaccinated. The benefits of getting a vaccinated FAR outweigh the potential risks. “

Dr. Cyrus Sharper, White House data director, said in a tweet Thursday that a total of more than 864,000 doses were reported the day before, including about 585,000 who received the first injection. According to the White House, this is the maximum number of Covid-19 vaccine doses and new vaccines reported per day for more than a month.

“This may be a turning point for those who were hesitant to say,’OK, it’s about time,'” Collins said. “I hope it’s happening. To get this delta variant back in place, it has to happen desperately.”

What is changing their minds

Chan’s husband, Joseph Milwood, works in health care and has been vaccinated for a long time. He knew the threat Covid-19 poses to his wife, and he urged her to be shot.

Chan admitted that he was initially worried about how it would affect his baby. “But then I had to consider my options when I saw the dying people,” she said.

She was shot after consulting with an obstetrician and gynecologist who told her that vaccination was highly recommended. So a day or two later, Chan took a test to make sure she was negative. As soon as she got a negative result, she got the vaccine.

But for others CNN spoke in Birmingham, Alabama, it’s easier. Some people, such as Keith Snow, just want to get it back to normal.

Talking outside the vaccination clinic at UAB Hospital, Wearing a sticker that says “I got the Covid-19 vaccine,” Snow believed to CNN that he wouldn’t get sick, so “I really didn’t want to get it.” “.

“But I and my wife are preparing for a trip, so she told me that we would need it to travel. So I’m here.”

As a nurse, 23-year-old Casey Krzeczkowski had the opportunity to be vaccinated for some time, but she received a second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine about a month ago. Krzeczkowski said she was relieved that she got it, especially when infections surged and her hospital unit could be forced to treat coronavirus patients.

So why wait until now?

“I knew it would obviously protect us from Covid, but it took me a while to want to investigate and decide if it was the best for me.” She said. She added that without the obligation to wear a mask, she felt, “If I don’t intend to wear a mask anymore, I should probably protect myself.”

Erin Norris took her first shot on Monday. The 20-year-old had Covid-19, but was finally vaccinated because he was educating with special needs children. She didn’t want to endanger her mother, a survivor of lung cancer.

“When I had it, she was actually receiving chemotherapy at that time, so I had to stay upstairs all the way away from her,” Norris said. “And when I got it again, I didn’t want to endanger it.”