DCH Records Highest COVID-19 Count Since March in Tuscaloosa, AL

Inpatient numbers at DCH Health System continue to climb as the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 spreads in West Alabama.

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The health care provider shared a Wednesday update, noting 23 individuals are being treated within the hospital for the novel Coronavirus, the highest number of COVID-19 inpatients DCH Health System has seen since March of this year.

Eight patients are currently in the Intensive Care Unit, and DCH notes that "five or fewer" patients have been placed on a ventilator.

"We thought we might be past the worst of COVID-19, but across the country we have seen rapid increases in inpatient volumes. We are starting to see those increases at DCH," the health care provider said in a statement Wednesday.

The Alabama Department of Public Health notes that Tuscaloosa County, along with close to 70% of all counties in the state, is under a "Very High Risk" for spread of COVID-19 as confirmed cases of the virus continue to climb.

The ADPH has confirmed 8,966 cases of COVID-19 statewide in the last 14 days, 202 of which are in Tuscaloosa County.

Alabama remains one of the least vaccinated states in the nation, and the DCH Health System was forced to close its remote vaccination clinic after dwindling public interest.

Alabama COVID-19 Vaccine Breakdown (June 2021)

Each graphic shows how many people are vaccinated in all of Alabama's 67 counties, plus the percentage of vaccinated people versus that county's total population. This data was pulled from the Alabama Department of Public Health, county health departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.