Alaska is reporting two new coronavirus deaths along with over 300 new cases of the virus. The state Department of Health and Social Services reported the deaths yesterday of an Anchorage man in his 60s and a nonresident in his 70s who died in Anchorage. Alaska’s death toll from the pandemic now sits at 385 residents and eight nonresidents.
The health department also reported 338 new cases of COVID-19, including 323 resident and 15 nonresident cases. Across the Kenai Peninsula, Soldotna reported 12 cases, Homer 9, Kenai 9, Anchor Point 4, Seward 3, Kenai Peninsula Borough South 2, Kenai Peninsula Borough North 1, Nikiski 1 and Sterling 1. There also was 1 nonresident case reported in Soldotna.
On Wednesday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy and the state’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Anne Zink, publicly encouraged every eligible Alaskan to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.
In a COVID-19 echo yesterday, Dr. Zink said:
“Talking about your primary care doctor, myths that I hear all the time is that I’m too sick to get it, I hae bad COPD, I have heart disease. You are the perfect person to get vaccinated. Do not let those things to dissuade you. Please consider getting vaccinated. I have asthma. I have food allergies. Those are not contraindications to getting the vaccine. I’m immunocompromised and I’m worried that it will give me COVID. Again, this is not a live virus, and it can’t give you COVID. Those are contraindications. This is going to mean that I’m going to need a bunch of days off of work because I’m not going to feel well. People may develop a fever or develop a sore arm. That is definitely the minority of people. Most people are able to go to work just fine. If you get COVID, you could be out much longer. Putting that into perspective. If you haven’t made the time to do it, now is the time to do it as delta is spreading. Those are some of the things that I hear from the public on a regular basis on some perceived contraindications.”
The Governor and Chief Medical Officer’s announcement comes as positive cases and hospitalizations rise within the state, driven by the Delta variant of the virus first identified in India. While the latest version of COVID-19 appears to still infect some fully vaccinated individuals, the protection against serious illness, requiring medical care, or death is largely intact. Roughly 6% of individuals currently hospitalized for COVID-19 in the United States are fully vaccinated.