Alaska on Tuesday reported 17 deaths from COVID-19 – all identified during a death certificate review process, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services – and 140 new coronavirus infections.
It takes about nine days for a death to be recorded and then up to three weeks for the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to code and classify those deaths. CDC specialists rely on the cause of death observed by a medical professional to certify each death.
This reporting process has been in place for decades and is considered the most accurate way in which COVID-19 deaths are tracked, health officials said.
The deaths involved several Anchorage residents, including three women in their 90s, a man in his 90s, a woman in his 80s, two men in his 70s, two men in his 50s and a man in his 40s ; a man in his 80s and a woman in his 70s, both from the Bethel Census Area; a Palmer man in his 80s; a Wasilla man in his 80s; a Soldotna woman in her 60s; a Ketchikan man in his fifties; and an Alaskan woman in her 60s who died outside the state.
In the past, a large number of deaths reported in a single day were also the result of the review process. On January 20, the state recorded 24 deaths from COVID-19, the majority recorded in a single day. All but one death was identified during a review of the death certificate. The previous record occurred on December 12, when 18 deaths were recorded, including just five that occurred recently.
In total, 277 Alaskans and two non-residents with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic hit the state in March.
Alaska’s per capita mortality rate remains among the lowest in the country, although the size of the state and the vulnerable health system complicate national comparisons.
The state also reported 140 new infections on Tuesday, continuing a trend of lowercase counts in the past few months following an increase in November and early December.
Hospitalizations also continued to decline. On Tuesday, there were 42 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the state and seven more patients suspected of having the virus. Hospitalizations are now less than a third of what they were during the peak of early winter.
Despite lower numbers over January, Alaska is still in the highest alert category based on the current rate of infection per capita.
The seafood industry was again hit by several outbreaks in ships and processing facilities in the Aleutian Islands. Some of the facilities were temporarily closed as soon as the winter fishing season began.
Vaccines arrived in the state in December and, by Tuesday, at least 96,858 people – about 13% of the state’s population – received at least the first dose, according to the state’s vaccine monitoring panel. At least 28,911 people received both doses.
According to a national tracker, Alaska has so far vaccinated a greater percentage of its total population than any other state.
Health professionals, nursing home workers and residents were the first group to receive vaccines. Earlier this month, the state opened vaccines for adults over the age of 65, although appointments are limited and filled quickly, and overall vaccine distribution has been slower than authorities initially expected.
The state’s priority remains the vaccination of adults aged 65 and over, who are particularly vulnerable to serious illness and death from the virus.
For more information on vaccination appointments, visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 for help with scheduling.
Of the 111 cases reported among Alaskan residents on Tuesday, there were 54 in Anchorage, two more in Chugiak and five in Eagle River; one in Homer; three in Kenai; two in Soldotna; one in Kodiak; eight in Fairbanks; one in Esther; three at the North Pole; two on Big Lake; 11 in Palmer; 11 in Wasilla; two at Juneau; and one in Unalaska.
Among communities with populations under 1,000 unidentified to protect privacy, there was one in the Yukon-Koyukuk census area and three in the eastern Aleutian neighborhood.
Twenty-nine non-residents also tested positive for the virus, including two in Anchorage, two in Juneau, two in Unalaska and 23 in Aleutians East Borough.
Although people can be tested more than once, each case reported by the state 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.