University Of Alabama: New Student COVID-19 Cases Double

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The University of Alabama System says more than 58% of its student population on its Tuscaloosa campus has been vaccinated. This was reported in Monday's update of the system's COVID-19 dashboard, which also showed 194 students and 23 students testing positive for the virus from Aug. 23-29.

The latest data shows new cases among students nearly doubled for the third consecutive week, coming out to a total of 353 COVID-19 cases identified since the fall semester began. Among employees, 63 cases have been confirmed since Aug. 9.

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As of Monday, the UA System reported 17,117 doses of the vaccine administered on the Tuscaloosa campus, with 72.5% of faculty and staff receiving at least one dose.

The rising case totals at UA mirrors the situation seen in the community, as DCH Health System reported 28 new cases on Monday alone.

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Discharge rates and deaths saw the hospital system's number of coronavirus positive inpatients fall to 156 on Monday, with a pandemic high of 38 patients being treated in intensive care units. That is compared to the system hitting 163 inpatients Friday — the highest mark for hospitalizations during this current fourth wave of new cases.

Other noteworthy COVID-19 data

• DCH Health System currently reports 28 patients receiving treatment on ventilators, marking another high for the pandemic,
• In the last two weeks, 24 people have died at DCH after testing positive for COVID-19 and seeking inpatient care. It is unclear at this time how many were Tuscaloosa County residents.
• DCH reported the highest percentage of fully-vaccinated inpatients testing positive for the virus at 12% or 20 cases. The percentage of unvaccinated individuals in the ICU remains unchanged at 90%.

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