DECATUR, Ala. — Alabama COVID infection rates are continuing to increase as vaccination rates remain stagnant in the state.
"In the last seven days in this state, there has been almost 28,000, actually 27,688 determined and defined, new cases and 167 days," said Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) Area Administrator Judy Smith. "Hospitalizations continue to climb our death rate continues to climb."
As of August 16, the percentage of fully vaccinated Alabamians is at 35.2%.
"We've got a state here that has the highest positivity rate and the lowest vaccination rate of any state in the nation, we have to do something about this. We can't continue to let our people die, continue to let our people be sick," said Smith.
To combat infection rates and keep hospitalizations down, Smith says to get the COVID vaccine.
"The vaccine works. The vaccine is safe. If we look at what happened from the end of December, January and February, we literally flatten the curve," said Smith.
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Regarding vaccine hesitancy, Smith continues to remind people that the shot is safe.
"This is also the most tested vaccine that there has ever been," she said. "There are 356 million doses that have been given in the United States, there are 3.79 million doses that have been given in Alabama. This is the most tested vaccine, and medicine in a short period of time that has ever existed."
As of August 15, ADPH reports a statewide positivity rate of 22.4% with 2,631 people hospitalized with the virus.