DCH Hits New High For Virus Inpatients Amid Slow Vaccine Rollout

TUSCALOOSA, AL — DCH Health System once again topped its high for total coronavirus hospitalizations on Thursday as hospital officials also report a slow trickle down of vaccine doses despite persistent requests from administrators. The three-hospital system's latest update showed DCH added 33 new inpatients on Thursday, bringing its total number of those hospitalized after testing positive for the coronavirus to 184.

QUICK FACTS

• As of Thursday, DCH says 36 coronavirus positive patients died across the system over the previous week, but did not log any new deaths of Tuscaloosa residents during this time. The system serves an 11-county coverage area and receives patients from the region surrounding the Tuscaloosa metro.
• While Tuscaloosa County has reported 183 confirmed deaths of those testing positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, the state health department listed another 84 as probable as of Thursday.
• Statewide, 417,528 coronavirus cases, including those classified as probable, have been identified since March, with 5,038 confirmed deaths and another 992 probable deaths as a result of the virus.

The spike in hospitalizations comes following the holiday season and as officials work through the first phase of a complicated national vaccine rollout that is proving sluggish.

DCH Chief Operating Officer Paul Betz on Thursday said in a Zoom presentation with the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama that the hospital system, to date, had received 7,800 doses of the Pzifer vaccine, with 3,200 administered.

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Betz said the system has the capability to store about 40,000 doses, but with only 4,600 doses in hand, officials are having to hold back a certain amount of its supply for second doses in the two-step vaccination process, effectively cutting the hospital's current supply in half.

"We don’t have enough and we can't get enough," he said. "As much as we are requesting, I don’t know the reason why that is. I don’t know if that's a federal issue or a state issue but the allocation of vaccine is not getting to us."

The first round of vaccinations were quickly made available to first responders over the last month as officials wrangle with protracted community spreading and an impacted workforce. According to data provided by Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox this week, a total of 77 city employees, mostly in the city's fire and police departments, had received the first shot, while 17 of those had already received the second dosage.

The Tuscaloosa Police Department has been the hardest hit among city departments as only 67% of its workforce of 353 employees were available as of Tuesday. TPD also reports 128 employees have requested the coronavirus vaccine and 17 have received the first shot.

As first responders and health care workers are now eligible for local vaccinations, Betz said the vaccine will also be made available to those 75 and older beginning Monday on a first come, first served basis.

"We continue to order and hope we will get more deliveries in the meantime," he said.

In looking at the high number of cases, which continues to rise at an alarming rate, Betz said it was important to note that throughout the pandemic, several spikes have been attributed to holidays that preceded the surge. Coupled with colder weather driving people inside during the winter months, the holiday season brought in its wake a noticeable rise in new cases identified and subsequent hospitalizations.

"You can pretty much bet we’re going to see some result of the spread of the infection, the spread of the virus in the community," he said of holidays throughout the pandemic.

Concern persists relating to the range of threats to the hospital's operational integrity, including bed space and supplies. But for DCH, the primary concern remains having enough staff to meet the growing needing.

Betz explained the system's approach to understanding its ever-evolving position, saying if "any one of those components of that three-fold process gets out of whack or you don’t have enough, the whole system can crumble."

The hospital administrator did offer hope, though, in the form of positive results from treatment methods seen by local physicians. While these methods include giving patients convalescent plasma and medications such as remdesivir for symptoms, Betz said doctors have given a great deal of feedback to hospital leaders regarding outpatient antibody treatments at its Northport hospital.

Due to the demand and effectiveness seen thus far, DCH has moved its antibody treatment site to its Fitness One location on the Northport campus. Betz said this treatment is currently available to those 65 and older, or with comorbidities, who recently rested positive for the coronavirus but do not yet require hospitalization. The antibody treatment, he pointed out, is similar to the one given to President Donald Trump when he was briefly hospitalized in October after testing positive for the coronavirus and exhibiting symptoms.

"This is really what I will kind of describe as a sleeper treatment that our doctors raved about being very, very effective," he said.

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