By Andrew Edwards
Elmore/Autauga News Staff Writer
The West Elmore Lions Club held their monthly meeting on Tuesday afternoon, and members had the opportunity to hear from Alabama Department of Public Health State Health Officer, Dr. Scott Harris.
Harris gave the club an update on the coronavirus pandemic, which has begun to worsen once again statewide. Harris explained that critical hospitalizations have increased by several hundred over the past couple of weeks, citing that the Delta variant is the main cause of most new cases.
He went on to say that over 50 percent of those eligible for the vaccine in the state have yet to get the shot.
“For people 12 and up, we have over 40 percent of Alabamians vaccinated. That sounds pretty good, it’s about what we do with the flu, but actually it’s not that great. We could do a whole lot better,” Harris explained.
Harris went on to explain that the vaccine, which was once in high demand, is no longer being given at the rate that the ADPH would like to see.
“The first couple of months, we had a lot of issues getting the vaccine out to people. We had very limited places to send it because it was difficult to store. For the last three months, the problem has been that we’ve had plenty of the vaccine – people just aren’t taking advantage of it anymore,” Harris explained.
Harris said that in Alabama alone, there are 1,300 different places that people can go to get the vaccine without an appointment.
“A lot of people have just decided that they aren’t interested in the vaccine. It’s problematic because this isn’t going away anytime soon,” Harris said.
Harris explained that numbers have gone in the wrong direction over the last several weeks.
“We had a really good June. But over the past three weeks we’re seeing some really troublesome numbers again. Nationally, cases in America are up about 70 percent. We just recorded more than 1,000 cases in Alabama this morning – and that’s just from yesterday. We’ve only had a couple days like that since January,” Harris said.
Over the past year, death numbers across the state skyrocketed, Harris said.
“We had 65,000 deaths statewide last year, which is 11,000 more than any year in the history of our state. It coincides with the Covid pandemic,” Harris said.
If you already have been vaccinated against Covid, don’t fear the Delta variant, Harris says.
“The current vaccine products that we have are effective against the Delta variant. You do not need an additional shot,” Harris said.
The two main vaccines, know as Pfizer and Moderna, were about 93-94 percent effect against the original strain. Those same two vaccines are about 88 percent effective against the Delta strain.
Harris also said those who have contracted the virus in the past should still get the vaccine, citing that antibodies would only protect you from potentially contracting it again about for about three months.
If you’re still on the fence about getting the vaccine or not, Harris said to not take his word for it, but rather, your own primary care doctor.
“Our message has been for people to talk to their doctor. 95 percent of doctors in America have been vaccinated if given the opportunity. Those are the people who can really help you decide,” Harris said.
In other news,
Art Faulkner, first President of the Elmore County Lions Club, was honored at the Tuesday meeting. He was given an award “In appreciation for Outstanding Dedicated Service and Exceptional Leadership as President of the Lions Club”.
Art served as president during 2020 and into the 2021 year. He was recently replaced by past Vice-President, John Collier.
“It if wasn’t for Art, we wouldn’t have a Lions Club here. I appreciate everything that he’s done” Collier said.
Art, who served as president during the Covid pandemic, said that his time in his leadership role was tough but worthwhile.
“There’s a lot of other people whose names could’ve been on this list. 2020 was an exceptional year, and one that I hope we never have to experience again in our lifetimes. We stayed together, held meetings over Zoom, and I don’t think a single person ever got Covid from one of our meetings,” Faulkner said. “I’m just so grateful, and I hope you all can continue to support John. The Lions Club has some great things coming up.”
