Alaska reported 385 coronavirus infections from Saturday to Monday and 10 new COVID-19-related deaths, according to the state Department of Health and Social Services. The state no longer updates its coronavirus panel on weekends and instead includes that data in Monday’s report.
The latest three-day count continues a trend in Alaska of declining infections in the past three months. Hospitalizations are now well below what they were during a peak in November and December, which hampered the hospital’s capacity.
On Monday, there were 22 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the state, including five on ventilators. Three more patients were considered infected with the virus.
The COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Alaska in mid-December. On Monday, 155,951 people – about 21% of Alaska’s total population – received at least their first vaccine injection, according to the state’s vaccine monitoring panel. This is well above the national average of 15%.
Among Alaskans aged 16 and over, nearly 28% 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 103,668 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, nursing home staff and residents were the first people prioritized to receive the vaccine. Alaskans over 65 became eligible in early January, and the state further expanded eligibility criteria in February 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.
Last week, officials said people who help people aged 65 and over to 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 during the week and from 9 am to 4:30 pm on weekends.
In Anchorage, Alaskans 40 and older can now be vaccinated through the Southcentral Foundation, the health organization announced on Monday.
Despite the lower case numbers, most Alaskan regions are still in the highest alert category based on the current rate of infection per capita, and public health officials continue to encourage Alaskans to monitor personal efforts to virus mitigation, such as hand washing, masks. social wear and tear. A highly contagious British variant of the virus arrived in Alaska in December, while a separate variant originating in Brazil was found in the state last month. Scientists in Alaska on Wednesday announced the discovery of 10 cases of a new coronavirus strain discovered for the first time in California.
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.