For the second time in a week, East Alabama Health reported a new all-time high in COVID-19 hospitalizations as of Jan. 18 with 100 patients. This rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations follows a previous high of 96 on Sunday, which surpassed the previous all-time high of 93 on Sept. 4, 2021.
John Atkinson, spokeperson for EAH, said that of the 100 patients, 80 are over the age of 50 and 60 of the 100 are unvaccinated.
As of Monday, only eight patients were on ventilators compared to the high on Sept. 9, which saw 26 patients on ventilators.
In a press release, Atkinson said that physicians that specialize in pediatric care in Lee County reported that positivity rates among children are above 40%. At the Pediatric Clinic, 850 patients tested positive out of 2,117.
Lee County's current test positivity rate is 44.2%, while Alabama's positivity rate sits at 42.6%. According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, 2,404 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized across the state on Monday, including 97 pediatric patients and 41 pregnant women.
Monoclonal antibody infusions proved to be successful in 2021 in treating symptomatic patients against the Alpha and Delta variants, but the drugs used are not effective against the Omicron variant, according to Atkinson, and the new drug — sotrovimab— is in short supply.
“As a result, the drug is on allocation nationally, and the amount provided is a long way from meeting the needs of hospitals, including here at East Alabama Health,” Atkinson said. “We have received and administered 34 doses over the past month. We’re hopeful for a small shipment on Thursday but have only received 6 doses at a time in past shipments. As of 3 p.m. today, we have not received an order confirmation for this week.”
Laura Grill, EAH president, discussed the state of hospitalizations.
“It goes without saying that this is a milestone that we never wanted, or expected, to reach,” Grill said. “This level of hospitalizations, coupled with around 100 employees currently being out with COVID, creates a significant strain on our staff. But I could not be prouder of our entire East Alabama team for their commitment and endurance. Their resiliency over the past 22 months has been amazing to watch.”
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My Ly, junior in journalism, is the community editor of The Auburn Plainsman.
