Infectious disease experts think that Alabama is likely to have an outbreak of COVID this coming fall due to the lack of vaccinations.

Dr. Ramesh Peramsetty told 95.3 The Bear's Steve Shannon Morning Show he's very concerned that Alabama has the lowest immunization rate against COVID-19 in the country.

The state currently has no plans to speed up vaccinations.

The goal was to reach herd immunity so the world could return back to normal with risk minimized. However, according to Dr. Peramsetty, city health officials predict that herd immunity may not be achieved in Alabama.

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Dr. Peramsetty said if COVID-19 gets bad enough again, schools may revert back to online learning and football season may not return to normal. He also advised everyone who is eligible to please get vaccinated to protect themselves, their families, and the Tuscaloosa community.

Dr. Peramsetty reported the Delta variant now exists in Tuscaloosa. As of two weeks ago, Alabama has reported 27 cases from the Delta variant. Four of those cases were among vaccinated people.

Alabama has limited ability to sequence the variants, so there may be more variants in reality. Health officials are not sure exactly which countries these variants occur in most of the time.

Dr. Peramsetty said the currently available vaccines are highly effective against the Delta variant.

Currently, in Tuscaloosa, there has been a 1% increase in COVID numbers. While the state of Alabama has had less than a 2% increase within the past month.

Dr. Peramsetty has announced the opening of his First Kid’s Urgent Care, coming in August. The new office will have after-hours care, in-house labs, plus a pharmacy available seven days a week.

First Kid’s Urgent Care is located at 1251 McFarland Boulevard NE in Tuscaloosa. For information, go to www.firstkidsmd.com.

To hear the full interview with Dr. Ramesh Peramsetty, check out the audio clip below:

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