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Alaska Department of Health & Social Services Weekly Case Update
May 23-29, 2021
Brief Status Report
- The statewide average daily case rate continued decreasing. The current 14-day average case rate per 100,000 people is similar to levels last seen in July 2020.
- Since January 1, 2021, >98% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations in Alaska have been among people who were unvaccinated.
- 52% of Alaskans aged 12 years and older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
- Alaska is currently the twenty-eighth most vaccinated state per capita for adults aged ≥18.
- As of May 12, all Alaskans aged ≥12 years are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine is available at no cost.
- Starting June 1, anyone, including nonresident tourists, arriving at the Juneau, Fairbanks, Ketchikan, or Anchorage airports is able to get a dose of vaccine free of charge at the airport
Case Trends and Predictions
- 261 cases were reported in Alaskans last week. This is a 32% decrease from the week before.
- Case rates continued to increase in the Interior region while rates decreased from last week in the Southern Southeast region.
- Case rates decreased in 7 of the 11 behavioral health regions this week. Two regions saw minimal increases in case rates but still have <5 cases per 100,000 population.
- The estimated statewide daily growth rate as of June 1 is -4.3% and new cases are expected to halve every 16 days based on current modeling.
- Anyone aged ≥12 years who lives or works in Alaska is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
- On June 1, Alaska was the twenty-eighth most vaccinated state per capita for adults aged ≥18 years. The Alaska vaccine dashboard is available online for more up-to-date data.
- For May 9-May 24, the Percent of Alaskans aged 16+ who have received one or more dose of vaccine
- For June 1, the percent of Alaskans aged 12+ who have received one or more dose of vaccine. This percentage may be lower than previous weeks since the number of persons eligible for the vaccine increased since those 12+ are now eligible.
- To schedule your vaccine appointment visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322. The call line is staffed Monday-Friday from 9AM-6:30PM and 9AM-4:30PM on weekends.
- New Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths
- During the week of May 23 through May 29, 2021, 261 cases were reported in Alaskans. This is a 32% decrease compared to the week prior, for a total of 67,458 cases.
- Cumulative hospitalizations increased to 1,561 with 3 reported as occurring this week. Hospitalization reports often lag and only 1,553 hospitalizations were reported at this time last week, so there are 8 hospitalizations newly reported this week including ones that began during previous weeks.
- No deaths were reported this week (362 total). It is common to take more than a week for a death to be reported, and deaths that occurred during May 23-May 29 may be reported in the future after death certificates are reviewed.
- 12 new nonresident cases were identified this week for a total of 2,812 cases.
- Vaccine Breakthrough Cases
- No new vaccine breakthrough cases were reported during May 23-May 29.
- Vaccine breakthrough (VB) infections of COVID are those detected in a person who is more than 2 weeks beyond their second dose of a 2-dose series or the only dose of a 1-dose series. As of May 1, 2021, CDC changed reporting of VB cases to be only those associated with hospitalization or death.
- From January 1–May 24, 2021, Alaska has recorded one death and nine hospitalizations resulting from a VB infection. These counts are provisional and subject to change as more data are compiled. In that same time frame, a total of 20,997 cases, 470 hospitalizations, and 98 deaths were reported. 98.1% of all hospitalizations to date were people who are unvaccinated.
- Specimens from VB infections (regardless of severity) are prioritized for sequencing and described in the weekly Alaska Genomics Report
Variant Tracking
- On May 31 the WHO released updated nomenclature systems for naming and tracking SARS-CoV-2 variant strains. Though not yet updated in the Alaska COVID Genomic Surveillance Report, the variants are listed below with their new WHO labels.
- The most recent Alaska COVID Genomic Surveillance report was released on May 27
- Cumulative totals of variants identified in Alaska:
Alaska’s Public Health Laboratories continue to monitor for variants of concern and interest
- Health Care Capacity
- On June 1, 21 Alaskans with confirmed COVID-19 were hospitalized and 6 were reported to require a mechanical ventilator.
Additional informational resources:
- The State of Alaska COVID-19 vaccine status update page:
- The State of Alaska COVID-19 information page provides more information about the virus and how individuals and businesses can protect themselves and others from transmission
- For the most up-to-date case information, see the Alaska Coronavirus Response Hub dashboard: updated Monday – Friday at data.coronavirus.alaska.gov
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