Alabama health officials say that the state's low vaccination rate is the direct cause for an increase of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
The president of the Alabama Hospital Association cited frustration and called the situation a "self-inflicted wound."
Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 had hit an all-time low last month with 166, but have quickly risen to almost 500 people being treated for the virus. Around 11,436 Alabamians have died from COVID-19, ranking the state's death rate 17th in the country.