DCH Coronavirus Update 8-23-21

Update Aug. 23, 2021

FDA Fully Approves Pfizer Vaccine

Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer-BionTech COVID-19 Vaccine for those who are 16 years of age or older. The Pfizer vaccine is still available for those who are 12-15 years old, and as a third or booster dose under an emergency use authorization, but the EUA is no longer required for a first and second dose in anyone 16 years or older. The approved vaccine will be marketed under the name “Comirnaty.”

“Our scientific and medical experts conducted an incredibly thorough and thoughtful evaluation of this vaccine. We evaluated scientific data and information included in hundreds of thousands of pages, conducted our own analyses of Comirnaty’s safety and effectiveness, and performed a detailed assessment of the manufacturing processes, including inspections of the manufacturing facilities,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “We have not lost sight that the COVID-19 public health crisis continues in the U.S. and that the public is counting on safe and effective vaccines. The public and medical community can be confident that although we approved this vaccine expeditiously, it was fully in keeping with our existing high standards for vaccines in the U.S."

Additional details are available in the FDA press release found here: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-covid-19-vaccine

COVID-19 Information

To protect patient privacy, DCH has established a minimum threshold of five for reporting numbers of inpatients with laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19.

DCH Health System internal counts as of 2:54 p.m. on 8/23/21:

• 149 inpatients within the DCH system who are positive for COVID-19.
• 32 inpatients who are positive for COVID-19 are being treated in the ICU.
• 21 inpatients who are positive for COVID-19 are on ventilators.
• 12 inpatients who are positive for COVID-19 are on BiPAP.
• 10,001 (cumulative) unique positives for COVID-19 tests including results from the ED, triage tent and inpatient. These individuals are not necessarily in the hospital.
• 47,944 (cumulative) unique negatives for COVID-19 at DCH sites.
• 12,209 (cumulative) positive COVID-19 at DCH sites. These individuals are not necessarily in the hospital.
• 95,655 (cumulative) negative tests at DCH sites.
• 3,484 inpatients (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have been discharged.
• 602 inpatients (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 have died at DCH. This is not an indication of the cause of death, only that the individuals were positive for COVID-19 at the time of death.
• 315 Tuscaloosa County residents (cumulative) who were positive for COVID-19 and have died (per ADPH).