Leading Alabama Health Official Scott Harris condemned vaccine misinformation in a press hearing on Sept. 17.
Harris said on average the vaccination causes far less severe reactions than the coronavirus itself.
“In every single age group, COVID is much more dangerous than the vaccine,” Harris said. “No matter what your age group, even in our young adolescents and young teens, who in most cases don’t get all that sick from COVID.”
The Alabama Department of Public Health continues to record cases of coronavirus across K-12 school systems. A handful of school systems reported more than 100 cases just last week. These systems include Huntsville City, Mobile County, Montgomery County, Shelby County and Tuscaloosa County Schools. Jefferson County Schools recorded the most cases with 228 cases.
The counties of these school systems also all had high transmission rates. Coronavirus cases affected 10 or more residents out of every 100,000.
Public Health Official Karen Landers also dissuaded vaccination misinformation in a news release on the Alabama Department of Public Health’s website on Sept. 24. Landers said Alabamians should not let their guard down and neglect safety measures like receiving the vaccine.
“Alabama has had many COVID-19 cases, so some people have acquired some natural immunity,” she said in a written statement. “However, the duration of natural immunity is not known and may vary from person to person.”
Landers reported that over 25 percent of coronavirus cases persisted among children ages 0-17 years old. Vaccinations are only eligible for those 12 years and older. This comes as more than 13 percent of Alabama coronavirus tests are positive.
Vaccination numbers have changed very little from this and last week. Last week saw only 41 percent of residents fully vaccinated. As of this week, only 42.2 percent of Alabamians are fully vaccinated. Alabama continues to rank in the bottom portion of states with the most vaccinated. According to Mayo Clinic, Alabama is ranked 46th out of 50.
Scott Landers said a lot of vaccination hesitancy stems from those who have had coronavirus already.
“Many of the questions about natural immunity are people who are just skeptical of the vaccine in the first place, and I wish that wasn’t the case,” Harris said. “If you’ve been infected naturally, then the very best chance you have to protect yourself is to get vaccinated on top of that.”
