WETUMPKA WRESTLING AT FULL HEALTH ENTERING REGION DUALS, PAGE B1
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2022 | VOL. 124, NO. 1 | $1.00
SOME WALMARTS TO OFFER
COVID-19 ANTIVIRAL MEDICATION By JAKE ARTHUR Chief Videographer
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ccording to a press release distributed Wednesday, a few local Walmart stores are ready to receive and dispense the recently FDA authorized COVID19 antiviral medications Paxlovid and Molnupiravir, today as supplies allow. The medication will only be
available at certain Walmart and Sam’s Club locations in a limited number of states until more supply is available. In Tallapoosa County, the medications are only available at the Alexander City Walmart. In Elmore County, the Millbrook Walmart is offering the medications. The medications are only available with a prescription from a health care provider. Since the COVID-19 antiviral medications are prescribed
CLIFF WILLIAMS | THE HERALD
JAKE ARTHUR | THE HERALD
A Russell Medical Center employee speaks to a person in line for drive-through COVID-19 testing at the Mill Two Eighty in Alexander City, where more than 60 vehicles were lined up Monday morning.
Commentary
Elmore County averaging 85 new COVID cases per day
Not the Christmas break I wanted
By SIRI HEDREEN Multimedia Reporter
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
The emergency department staff at Russell Medical in Alexander City issued Cliff Williams a N95 mask to wear while I received the monoclonal antibody infusion and waited for observation. The observation included a heart monitor and oxygen saturation.
to those with COVID-19, it will only be available by curbside pickup. “We are committed to working with our state and federal partners to provide access to new treatment options like authorized COVID19 antiviral medications, as they become available,” said Kevin Host, Walmart senior vicepresident of pharmacy. “This medication offers
It was just days before Christmas and all it brings. I was looking forward to time off from work. I was looking forward to time with my son and family. I was looking forward to the food — mainly mom’s red velvet cake. I know I have been around the coro-
See WALMARTS, Page A3
A total of 605 Elmore County residents tested positive for COVID-19 in the week after Christmas with the omicron variant “spreading like wildfire,” according to state health officer Dr. Scott Harris. As of Jan. 1, an average of 85 Elmore County residents were testing positive each day, according to Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) data. The increased use of at-home testing kits since the delta
navirus. Several subjects at events or stories I covered have tested positive in the days after but I have been lucky — even before becoming a Moderna man. After reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic for two years, I knew the symptoms: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, sore throat, congestion, nausea, diarrhea and loss of taste See CHRISTMAS, Page A3
See COVID, Page A3
RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR JAKE ARTHUR | THE HERALD
Fireworks over Bibb Graves Bridge in Wetumpka celebrate the new year on New Year’s day, Jan. 1, 2022. A modest crowd gathered nearby to watch the fireworks display. Today’s
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334-567-7811 Fax: 334-567-3284
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a k p m Wetu
Flea Market & Antiques 5266 U.S. Hwy. 231 • Wetumpka, AL (Winn Dixie Shopping Center • Behind KFC)
OVER 100 BOOTHS Booth space available starting at $118 per month for 6’ x 10’
334-567-2666