HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — COVID vaccinations in Alabama are lower compared to the U.S., and doctors say it’s no longer supply. It’s another problem holding back Alabamians from getting their doses.
“The vaccine supply is there. It’s available everywhere. It’s very easy in Alabama in comparison to other states to get vaccinated,” says Huntsville Hospital Infectious Disease Specialist, Dr. Ali Hassoun.
Doctors believe it’s no longer supply that’s limiting Alabamians from getting the vaccine. It’s hesitancy.
“We are very concerned that we have reached the point now that we have vaccine available in all of our communities and yet we still have groups of people that aren’t availing themselves of these opportunities,” says ADPH Assistant State Health Officer, Dr. Karen Landers.
Every county in Alabama is under fifty percent of at least one dose administered to people sixteen and older. Meanwhile, the CDC reports more than half the population of U.S. adults, eighteen and older, received at least one dose.
Public health officials say now it’s a “race against this virus”. “Certainly our numbers are down, but our hospitalizations are starting to creep upward,” says Landers.
The initial pause on the J&J vaccine may have deterred people from getting vaccinated. But doctors say if anything, this demonstrates confidence in safety.
“If any safety issues gonna come, if usually if there is any, it will come within the first two months…If you look at Johnson & Johnson got approved at the end of February started to be administered in March,” says Hassoun.
The Alabama Department of Public Health will continue to partner with community groups and agencies to educate the public about the vaccine.
However they’re encouraging people, still on the fence, to seek health professionals. “Look to your healthcare provider. Look to your doctor, to your nurse, to your pharmacist to make sure that you have the best information possible,” says Landers.
