COVID numbers highest since February

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - COVID-19 cases have reached the highest numbers since February.

Dr. Wes Stubblefield, North Alabama’s district medical officer for the state health department, said while the numbers are rising, the severity of the strains is lowering.

“That immunity is starting to wear off,” Dr. Stubblefield said. “As the virus has mutated, vaccines have become less effective at preventing infection, although they are still very effective at preventing severe infection, hospitalization and death.”

On the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s website, Madison County is marked as a red zone, meaning a high percent of COVID cases.

Dr. Stubblefield said it is too early to tell if this trend will continue rising or not.

“We’re sort of seeing this move across and we just don’t have enough information to know if we are at the peak of this recent increase in the number of cases, or if another variant will come along and cause another spike,” Dr. Stubblefield said. “We just don’t know at this point. We’re still watching.”

Dr. Stubblefield wanted to express the importance of getting vaccinated. He said the severity of the disease if contracted becomes lower.

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