DCH Faces Surge As State Health Officer Says Worst Still Ahead

TUSCALOOSA, AL — State health officials warn the worst of the current wave of coronavirus hospitalizations could be seen in the coming days as DCH Health System saw its totals remain flat from the previous day with 125 inpatients on Thursday. This is down slightly from Wednesday but still nearly double the number of inpatients logged two weeks ago in Tuscaloosa.

Thursday's update came after Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris told reporters on Thursday that he expects the next few days to see the number of those hospitalized with the coronavirus top highs seen in January. What's more, Harris stressed that 86% of those recently hospitalized statewide had not been vaccinated.

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This lines up with trends reported by DCH Health System, which has stood by its reporting of more than 90% of inpatients not being vaccinated. Thursday's numbers also showed 34 patients receiving critical care in the system's ICUs, with 15 of those being treated on ventilators.

Tuscaloosa hit its pandemic high for hospitalizations on Jan. 19, when DCH reported 193 inpatients with 40 in its ICUs at the time. At the time, this followed fears that large gatherings over the holidays, along with cold weather keeping people indoors, would result in community spreading of the virus.

While hospitalization data underscores the vast number of those who have not been vaccinated, interest has been slowly building in Tuscaloosa and statewide, with the state health department reporting that 82,672 Tuscaloosa County residents had received at least one doses of the coronavirus vaccine — up a little more than 700 people since Tuesday.

Patch also reported on Wednesday that the vaccination rate among DCH employees has improved, reaching nearly 62% for those who have received at least one dose of the vaccine. That is compared to a total staff vaccination rate of roughly 53% on July 29.

Changes to visitation policies were also put into place by DCH on Thursday, allowing for only one support person per day in most areas, with visitors prohibited from rotating in most situations.

Additionally, the sustained rise in hospitalizations on Thursday coincided with school starting back for the fall for the Tuscaloosa County School System and Tuscaloosa City Schools. The two systems have taken different approaches to begin the school year, with TCS opting to reinstitute a mask order for students and employees, while TCSS has made masks optional to begin the school year.

The University of Alabama is set to begin fall classes next week and will require students, employees and visitors to wear masks indoors to start the semester.

But with respect to local school systems, concerns remain over the virus spreading among children, who officials say appear to be more susceptible to new variants. Eddie Burkhalter of Alabama Political Reporter wrote on Wednesday that of the state's hospitalization, 39 were children — compared to nine on July 15.

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But as elected officials across the metro look to Gov. Kay Ivey for guidance on additional directives, it seems unlikely that any of the local elected bodies will be quick to vote in mask mandates or additional restrictions on gatherings.

Nationwide, the latest surge has also brought worries of hospital system failures, including places like Mississippi, where at least one hospital has had to expand out to a parking garage to provide additional space. While DCH is far from this point, it's worth noting that DCH continues to face a nursing shortage amid the latest surge in cases.

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