From The Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM — A leading doctor at UAB said Wednesday that the Delta variant of COVID-19 is posing a great danger to Alabama, where vaccination rates are still lower than many other places in the United States. The Delta variant is turning out to be especially dangerous to some children, she said.
“We are seeing more children hospitalized than we ever have at any stage in this pandemic,” said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of infectious diseases at UAB, during a Wednesday briefing hosted by the Alabama House Democratic Caucus. Alabama Political Reporter first reported this news.
According to Alabama Hospital Association president Dr. Don Williamson, 45 children hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide on Wednesday. On Tuesday, there were only 40. Compare that to July 15, when there were only 9.
“At Children’s Hospital here we have 12,” Marrazzo said of Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. “Two of those are intubated on a ventilator in the ICU. They’re less than two … it is a very scary virus, in terms of not only transmission, but probably its ability to cause severe disease, especially in children.”
