As of Tuesday, 7,459 people in the Kenai Peninsula Borough had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Vaccine Monitoring Dashboard. That is compared to 3,949 COVID-19 cases that have been reported in the borough since the pandemic began.

For the months of December, January and February, Alaska received an allocation of 174,400 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. As of Tuesday, 156,252 doses had been administered, though that number is expected to be higher due to a lag in reporting. 110,626 Alaskans had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine with 45,626 Alaskans having received both.

Alaska currently leads the nation in the percentage of the population that has received at least one dose. 15% of Alaska’s population has received at least one dose, according to NPR’s COVID-19 vaccine tracker. That is compared to the nationwide percentage of 9.7%.

As of Tuesday, people eligible to receive the vaccine in Alaska included most health care workers and Alaskans over the age of 65. People can check their eligibility on the DHSS COVID vaccine website at covidvax.alaska.gov.

The City of Kenai is offering transportation to and from vaccine clinics located in Kenai in partnership with CARTS and Alaska Cab. The city council approved $5,000 for the program at their Jan. 20 meeting. Rides will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis until the budgeted funds run out. In order to participate in the program, people must be going from an address located in Kenai to a clinic in Kenai and will need to provide proof of vaccination.

Officials also said that the state’s COVID data hub, which has moved to alaska-coronavirus-vaccine-outreach-alaska-dhss.hub.arcgis.com, will no longer be updated on weekends.

Case counts

DHSS reported 116 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, including 10 reported among nonresidents. Three cases were reported on the peninsula: two in Soldotna and one in Homer.

As of Tuesday, the borough was considered to be at “intermediate” risk level, with a 14-day case rate of 6.36. The borough was one of three regions in the state not considered to be at “high” risk level, with the Northwest Region and Other Southeast Region – Northern.

Over the past week, 935 COVID-19 tests were conducted on the Kenai Peninsula, resulting in a 1.28% positivity rate. To date, the borough has conducted 63,356 tests. Statewide, 31,205 tests were conducted over the past week, which saw a positivity rate of 2.52%. To date, 1,561,249 tests have been conducted in Alaska.

The state also reported four new hospitalizations and one new death, bringing the state’s totals to date to 1,191 and 278, respectively. As of Tuesday, there were 35 people hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Alaska, including one who was considered a person under investigation for the disease. Six of the patients were on ventilators.

In addition to the three new cases on the peninsula, the state also reported 32 cases in Anchorage, 21 in Bethel Census Area, 20 in Wasilla, nine in Palmer, five in Eagle River, three in Bethel, three in Fairbanks, two in Kusilvak Census Area and one each in Big Lake, Bristol Bay plus Lake and Peninsula Boroughs, Chugiak, Delta Junction, Juneau, Kotzebue, Nome Census Area and Unalaska.

Ten nonresident cases were also reported. Four were reported in Aleutians East Borough, two in Anchorage, two in North Slope Borough, one in Unalaska and one has a location still under investigation.

COVID-19 testing locations

On the central peninsula, testing is available at Capstone Family Clinic, K-Beach Medical, Soldotna Professional Pharmacy, Central Peninsula Urgent Care, Peninsula Community Health Services, Urgent Care of Soldotna, the Kenai Public Health Center and Odyssey Family Practice. Call Kenai Public Health at 907-335-3400 for information on testing criteria for each location.

In Homer, testing is available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily at the lower level of South Peninsula Hospital’s Specialty Clinic as well as through SVT Health & Wellness clinics in Homer, Seldovia and Anchor Point. Call ahead at the hospital at 907-235-0235 and at the SVT clinics at 907-226-2228. Testing is also available at Homer Public Health Center daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In Ninilchik, NTC Community Clinic is providing testing on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The testing is only for those traveling, symptomatic, needing testing for medical procedures, or with a known exposure after seven days. Only 20 tests will be offered per day. To make an appointment to be tested at the NTC Community Clinic, call 907-567-3970.

In Seward, testing is available at Providence Seward, Seward Community Health Center, Glacier Family Medicine and North Star Health Clinic.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.