Huntsville leaders urge vaccinations as COVID-19 cases drop

Published on May 13, 2021

City of Huntsville leaders are hopeful as COVID-19 case numbers fall across Huntsville/Madison County.

During the Huntsville-Area COVID-19 Update on May 13, officials said vaccination efforts are dramatically helping in the fight against the coronavirus.

In Madison County, health officials have administered 133,693 first doses of the vaccine, which represents 44 percent of those ages 16 and older. More than 105,000 have received their second dose, representing 35 percent of the population.

“Of that 44% that have received the first dose, somewhere around 55 percent of that are ages 55 and over,” said Jeff Birdwell, Huntsville-Madison County EMA Director. “So, you can make the judgment that we have done well with getting our older population vaccinated. I think the tale going forward will be getting our younger population vaccinated. Maybe not for themselves, but for others.”

Residents who have not yet received their vaccine can book an appointment through HuntsvilleHospital.org , ALCOVIDVaccine.gov and Vaccines.gov .

Currently, the Madison County Health Department allows patients to walk in without an appointment. Officials recommend residents visit in the morning for walk-in treatment. If residents need a ride to a vaccination site, they can call 211 to schedule no-cost transportation.

Mayor Tommy Battle urges everyone who has not gotten vaccinated or is still on the fence to get the shot as soon as possible.

“Everyone still needs to get vaccinated,” he said. “If we do, we will be looking at this in the rear-view mirror and we will be done with it. Encouraging everyone to get the vaccine is very important.”

With the state’s Safer Apart public health order set to expire May 31, Huntsville Hospital Senior Vice President of Operations Tracy Doughty said “everything is going well as far as COVID goes.”

“The hospitals are getting back to normal with normal operations, elective cases, X-rays,” he said. “We are at a good place and we are glad to be there.”

With 56 percent of Madison County residents still unvaccinated, Battle hopes at least 60 percent of the population will have their shots by June.

“Hopefully as we get into the depth of the summer and July 4, we’ll be able to say we have conquered this,” he said.

For more information, visit HuntsvilleAL.gov/COVID19 .