Aug. 10 Zoom Call: COVID cases are high, but so is the momentum for vaccinations

August 12, 2021

During our August 10 Zoom call with membership, we talked about the rise in COVID cases, which is drastic right now. A lot of people are sick and hospitals across Alabama are full, including here in Huntsville. Resources at these hospitals are stretched, as staff members care for patients with COVID. Elective procedures have also been put on hold.

There is still a big need for people to get vaccinated, but we have seen good momentum lately:

In the last seven days, 5,891 people in Madison County initiated the vaccine process
Of those, 954 are between 12 and 17 years old
4,937 people are ages 18 and up
203,677 people in Madison County have one dose (54.6% of our population)
165,120 people in Madison County are fully vaccinated (44.3% of our population)

These statistics are from healthdata.gov. This is the data that is provided to the White House.

We talked about the need to cut through the tremendous amount of disinformation and rumor about the coronavirus and the vaccine. One website that helps cut through the clutter of disinformation is factcheck.org.

We encouraged people to talk with their physicians, and for companies to urge employees to talk with their doctor too.

You can sign up for a vaccine appointment through Huntsville Hospital, a number of pharmacies through vaccines.gov, through many local doctor offices, and you can visit the Madison County Health Department Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is located at 301 Max Luther Drive NW, Huntsville, AL 35811. The United Way of Madison County can help if you need a ride to a vaccine appointment – just call 211.

Our guests were:

Neil Lamb, Ph.D.
Faculty Investigator and Vice President for Educational Outreach
HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology

Ryan Guthrie
Health & Wellness Specialist, HR
Mazda Toyota Manufacturing

Joyce Thomas
Manager, Emergency Preparedness
Huntsville Hospital

Cathy Miller
Community Impact Director
United Way of Madison County

We will host these calls weekly, on Tuesdays at 2pm. Register here. We welcome your questions.