The most recent case count is part of an Alaskan trend of declining infections in the past two months, after a peak in November and early December that hampered the hospital’s capacity. Alaska hospitalizations are now less than a quarter of what they were in November and December.
As of Wednesday, there were 37 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the state, including four on ventilators. Another nine patients were considered to have the virus.
The COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Alaska in mid-December. As of Wednesday, 146,778 people – more than 20% of Alaska’s total population – had received at least their first vaccine injection, according to the state’s vaccine monitoring panel. This is well above the national average of 13.4%.
Among Alaskans aged 16 and over, 26% received at least one dose of the vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine has been authorized for use in people aged 16 and over, and Moderna has been approved for use in people aged 18 and over. At least 92,630 people received both doses of the vaccine. Alaska currently vaccinated more residents per capita than any other state, according to a national tracker.
Health professionals and employees of nursing homes and residents were the first people prioritized to receive the vaccine. Alaskans over 65 became eligible in early January, and the state further expanded the eligibility criteria this month to include educators, people aged 50 and over with a high-risk medical condition, essential frontline workers aged 50 and over and people living or working together in settings such as shelters and prisons. On Wednesday, officials said people who help people 65 and older get vaccinated are now eligible to receive the vaccine.
Those eligible to receive the vaccine can visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 to apply and confirm eligibility. The telephone line is open from 9 am to 6:30 pm on weekdays and from 9 am to 4:30 pm on weekends.
The Matanuska-Susitna region overtook the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta this week to record the highest average daily case rate in the state. On Wednesday, Mat-Su saw 34.41 cases per 100,000 in the last 14 days.
Of the 175 cases reported among Alaskan residents on Wednesday, there were 44 in Anchorage, three in Chugiak, seven in Eagle River and two in Girdwood; two in Córdoba; one in Homer; one in Nikiski; one at Seward; 18 in Fairbanks; seven at the North Pole; 16 in Palmer; 37 in Wasilla; one in Kotzebue; three at Juneau; 10 in Ketchikan; 10 in Petersburg; and one in Skagway.
In communities with fewer than 1,000 unnamed people to protect privacy, there was a case in the Copper River Census Area; one in the Matanuska-Susitna neighborhood; one in the Name Census Area; six in the Bethel Census Area; and two in the Kusilvak census area.
There were also four cases of non-residents, including one in Fairbanks; one in Delta Junction; one in Unalaska; and one in an unidentified part of the state.
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.