'Dire Shape': Health Leaders Concerned About Post-Christmas Surge

ACROSS AMERICA — The coronavirus can be especially dangerous in areas with high rates of obesity, high blood pressure and other health problems. Add to that limited access to health care, and medical officials in Alabama are dealing with a full-blown crisis.

“We’re kind of like a bathtub that’s filling up with water and the drain is blocked,” Dr. William Smith, chief medical officer at the Cullman Regional Medical Center north of Birmingham, told The Associated Press.

Alabama has long been one of the unhealthiest states, according to the AP, with obesity and diabetes rates well above average. Now, the state has turned into a COVID-19 hot spot.

More than 2,800 people were hospitalized with the virus in Alabama on Tuesday, the highest number since the pandemic began. The intensive care unit at Cullman Regional was at 180 percent of capacity last week.

The state is now third in the United States in per capita hospitalizations, according to NPR.

Experts worry the strain will only increase after the holidays because of new infections linked to travel and gatherings of family and friends, according to the AP.

“I think we are in dire shape. I really do,” Dr. Don Williamson, head of the Alabama Hospital Association, told the AP.

“I fear our Christmas surge is going to be much worse than the Thanksgiving surge.”

The Latest

The coronavirus variant first found in the United Kingdom has come to the United States, as the nation's daily virus death toll is back above 3,000.

The first known U.S. case of COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 — the same one discovered in the United Kingdom — has been reported in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis and state public health officials said Tuesday.

The case involves a man in his 20s who is in isolation and has no travel history, officials said. The man is recovering and will remain in isolation until cleared. He has no close contacts identified so far, but public health officials are working to identify other potential cases and contacts through tracing interviews, the state said.

Tuesday also marked just the sixth time, all during December, in which the daily American virus death toll had topped 3,000, according to data from The Washington Post.

The virus has now claimed more than 340,500 lives, including Luke Letlow, a Republican congressman-elect from Louisiana. The 41-year-old died Tuesday evening, according to The New York Times. He was set to take office in the House on Sunday.

The variant's arrival and rising death total came as hopes apparently have been dashed for an increase in the payments all Americans will receive as part of their next stimulus check.

A bill, passed easily in the House with bipartisan support, would have increased the one-time payments from $600 to $2,000. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not bring it to a vote Tuesday, saying instead a "process" will begin to address the issue.

Both current President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden have voiced support for the increased payments.

Biden criticized the initial rollout of the two approved vaccines in the United States, noting in a Tuesday afternoon address that only 2.1 million Americans have received doses in the first weeks.

He went after the Trump administration over its vaccination efforts, warning that the project, dubbed Operation Warp Speed, is moving at a slower pace than needed.

"As I long feared and warned, the effort to distribute and administer the vaccine is not progressing as it should," Biden said.

Trump blames the slow vaccine rollout on individual states. “The Federal Government has distributed the vaccines to the states. Now it is up to the states to administer,” he tweeted on Wednesday. "Get moving!"

Newest Numbers

At least 3,293 deaths and 199,954 new cases had been reported in the United States on Tuesday, according to a Washington Post database. The Post's reporting shows over the past week new daily cases have fallen by 16.1 percent, new daily deaths have fallen 16.5 percent and new coronavirus-related hospitalizations rose by 4 percent.

As of Wednesday, 46 states and Puerto Rico remained above the positive testing rate recommended by the World Health Organization to safely reopen. To safely reopen, the WHO recommends states remain at 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the United States had reported more than 19.6 million cases and more than 340,500 deaths from COVID-19-related illnesses, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus news via The New York Times or Washington Post.

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