Alabama made history in 2020 when more deaths were recorded than births, The New York Times reported on Saturday. At a Friday press conference, state health officer Dr. Scott Harris announced, "Our state literally shrunk in 2020."

Harris said records going back to 1900 show that did not happen during either World War or the 1918 pandemic. Alabama has recently averaged about 60 deaths a day, according to a New York Times database, and only 41 percent of the state's eligible population is fully vaccinated.

Alabama's rate of full vaccination is on a par with Idaho's, tied as the third-lowest rate in the country. The two that rank lower are Wyoming and West Virginia.

Alabama's governor, Kay Ivey, has urged the people of her state to get Covid vaccinations, but like many other Republicans, she objected when President Biden recently announced vaccine mandates. She called "outrageous" and "overreaching."