Alabama hospitals had the second-highest number of days of ICU stress behind Texas and the highest number of days with staffing shortages.
A national scorecard on how hospitals and state health systems fared during the COVID pandemic ranked Alabama last because of its low vaccination rate, hospital stress levels and high numbers of excess deaths.ranked all 50 states
The state also had the second lowest percentage of adults who are fully vaccinated and boosted. As of June 22, 2022,61.6% of Alabama adults are fully vaccinated, ahead of just Wyoming at 61.3%. The Commonwealth Fund also found Alabama had the third highest rate of COVID-related excess deaths. “To be sure, COVID-19 has challenged the health care system in all states,” read a press release from the Commonwealth Fund. “Still, many states have been able to maintain a high level of performance in the face of crisis.”
The scorecard also measured the number of days hospital intensive care units were at 80 percent capacity or more. Texas hospitals met or exceeded that capacity for 566 days, followed by Alabama, where hospital ICUs remained full or nearly full for 516 days.