Health

Montgomery County has had its first death from COVID-19, according to Monique Smith with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.  Smith confirmed to APR by phone Monday that a person from Montgomery County, who had tested positive for COVID-19, has died, and that she is waiting for the Alabama Department of Public Health to confirm the … Continued

More than two dozen legal academics and former law enforcement officials in Alabama are asking the state to resume parole hearings and release very ill and older inmates who are at greater risk of serious sickness and death from COVID-19.  In a letter to Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, professors from the University of Alabama School … Continued

UPDATE at 8:15 p.m.: Federal Judge Myron Thompson issued a temporary restraining order Monday night, barring the state of Alabama from prohibiting abortions during the novel coronavirus outbreak. The temporary restraining order comes after abortion clinics and the ACLU sued the state, alleging that the statewide business closures ordered last week wrongfully and illegally prohibited … Continued

Over the last week, the number of COVID-19 cases in the state of Alabama grew faster than 43 other states and the District of Columbia. Only seven states saw their total confirmed cases increase more rapidly than Alabama, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project. The number of positive cases confirmed by lab tests … Continued

The University of Alabama at Birmingham is putting six labs to work testing a potential vaccine for COVID-19, the university announced Monday.  Scientists at UAB will be conducting preclinical testing on mice of Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Altimmune’s vaccine called AdCOVID. Once that testing is complete the company could begin testing on humans later this year, according … Continued

More and more of Alabama’s brainpower is being redirected into fighting the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Dr. Jerome Baudry is a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. Dr. Baudry and his lab are involved in a project that is using the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Summit … Continued

The number of patients who have died from COVID-19 at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika since Friday has increased to six, the hospital said in a statement Sunday. Four of the patients were from Chambers County and two were from Lee County. The Alabama Department of Public Health is still investigating the deaths and … Continued

Nursing homes in Alabama care for the most vulnerable to serious complications and death from COVID-19, and by Saturday there were at least eight confirmed cases in six homes across the state.  It came as no surprise when confirmed cases started coming in, said John Matson, director of communications at the Alabama Nursing Home Association, … Continued

UPDATE: East Alabama Medical Center said Sunday that its death toll has increased to six. [visual-link-preview encoded=”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”] Five patients who were being treated for COVID-19 at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika, Alabama, have died since Friday, the hospital said in a statement Saturday. “Our hospital family expresses its collective condolences to the families of … Continued