MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama is at risk of losing COVID vaccine to other states that may need it. So far, not enough people are getting their doses here.
“Right now, we are not losing vaccine at the moment. Right now we still have our vaccine for COVID-19,” says Alabama Department of Public Health’s Assistant State Health Officer, Dr. Karen Landers.
According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, more than 4 million doses have been delivered to us, and about 2.7 million doses have been administered.
“If we are not stepping this up in terms of use of this vaccine in the appropriate age groups, then other states who have higher demand will receive the vaccine, and we could be asked to give up some of our vaccine,” says Landers.
The FDA just approved the Pfizer vaccine for kids as young as twelve. Doctor Karen Landers says if we lose vaccine, supply would then be a problem.
“This vaccine goes to another state and then we have an increased demand, then we might not be able to meet that demand just as what happened when we first started in the COVID-19 vaccination,” says Landers.
More vaccinations means the more we return to normality or ‘herd immunity’, according to doctors. Landers says other physicians believe the level of herd immunity could be from 60% to 80%. Some counties in Alabama are more than 40% vaccinated for at least one dose.
“Madison County, actually being one of them, as far as persons receiving at least one dose. The good news is that if we get people in for one dose for vaccine, we have a very high turnout for that second dose,” says Landers.
However, Landers says at this rate people returning for second doses still isn’t enough. “I do think we in Alabama absolutely have within our grasp the ability for our state to have the level of immunity that we need. But it’s going to require more vaccination than what we have now,” she says.
