ALABAMA, USA — COVID-19 hospitalizations are at an all time high in Alabama and are expected to keep climbing.
Health officials at UAB Hospital say the state is starting to see a surge in cases from Christmas and New Year's Eve. They say it won't be long until those numbers are reflected in our hospitals.
UAB Hospital epidemiologist, Dr. Rachael Lee, says hospitals are seeing a wide range of patients, including those determined “COVID convalesced.” The term “convalesced” refers to a person recovering from an illness. These are people who are no longer infectious and can be moved out of COVID units but are still fighting for their lives on ventilators.
"This is the most heart breaking thing really for us because we are doing everything that we can to get them home and to their loved ones and it's incredibly difficult," said Dr. Lee.
Dr. Lee says this surge is concerning because hospitals are already putting more and more patients on ventilators.
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