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In general, the latest daily count continues a downward trend in infections in Alaska over the past three months. Hospitalizations are now well below what they were during a peak in November and December that strained hospital capacity.
The new death involved a man in his 60s in the Eastern Aleutian Borough who worked in the seafood industry, according to the health department.
Wednesday there were 23 people with COVID-19 in hospitals statewide. Three other patients had pending test results.
The COVID-19 vaccine reached Alaska in mid-December. As of Wednesday, 158,680 people – about 21.7% of Alaska’s total population – had received at least their first vaccine, according to the state’s Vaccine Monitoring Dashboard. This is above the national average of 15.6%.
Among Alaskans aged 16 and over, 28% had received at least one dose of the vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for people 16 years of age and older, and Moderna has been approved for use in people 18 years of age and older. At least 105,085 people had received both doses of the vaccine. Alaska has currently vaccinated more residents per capita than any other state, according to a national tracker.
On Wednesday, the state announced that essential workers and people with potentially high-risk health conditions aged 16 and older, as well as people living in communities without water or sewage systems, in multigenerational homes or homes aged 55 and over are also eligible for the vaccine.
Healthcare workers, nursing home staff and residents were the first priority people to receive the vaccine. Alaskans over 65 became eligible in early January, and the state further expanded the eligibility criteria in February to include educators, people 50 and older with a disability. high-risk health care workers, frontline essential workers aged 50 and over, and people living or working in gather places such as shelters and prisons.
Officials last week said that people who help Alaskans 65 and older get vaccinated are now eligible to get the shot.
Those eligible to receive the vaccine can visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 to register and confirm their eligibility. The telephone line is open from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends.
In Anchorage, Alaskans aged 40 and over can get vaccinated through the Southcentral Foundation, the health care organization said on Monday.
Despite the lower numbers, most parts of Alaska are still in the highest alert category based on the current per capita infection rate, and public health officials continue to encourage Alaskans to follow personal virus mitigation efforts such as hand washing, mask. usury and social distancing. A highly contagious British variant of the virus reached Alaska in December, while a separate variant originating in Brazil was found in the state last month. Scientists in Alaska announced last week the discovery of 10 cases of a new strain of coronavirus first discovered in California.
Of the 173 cases identified among residents of Alaska, there were 47 in Anchorage, plus three in Chugiak, three in Eagle River and one in Girdwood; two in Cordoba; three to Homer; one in Kenai; one in Soldotna; 18 in Fairbanks; two at the North Pole; two at Delta Junction; one in Big Lake; 15 in Palmer; one in Sutton-Alpine; 35 in Wasilla; one to Willow; five in Juneau; 13 in Petersburg; one in Metlakatla; one in Sitka; two at Bethel; and one in Dillingham.
Among the communities of less than 1,000 people not named to protect individual privacy, there were two in the northern Kenai Peninsula, nine in the Bethel census area and one in the Kusilvak census area. .
There were also 16 new non-resident cases, including 14 in Unalaska, including 13 among seafood industry workers. One non-resident case was reported in the southeast census region of Fairbanks and one in Anchorage.
While people can be tested more than once, each case reported by the state’s health department represents only one person.
State data does not specify whether people who test positive for COVID-19 have symptoms. More than half of the country’s infections are transmitted by asymptomatic people, according to CDC estimates.
[Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that 14 new nonresident cases were reported in the Aleutians East Borough. Rather, they were identified in Unalaska, within the Aleutians West Census Area.]
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