Alaska state health officials during a remote press conference on Monday reiterated new federal guidelines on gatherings for those who have been vaccinated.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday that people who are fully vaccinated can visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing. They can also visit with low-risk unvaccinated people from a single household indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing. They can also refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic.
“Vaccines work, so it’s really exciting to see the things we can do,” Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink said. “We’re so excited to have this pandemic going in our rearview mirror and [be] moving forward.”
Alaska continues to lead the nation in vaccine rollout, according to NPR’s COVID vaccine tracker. Alaska’s vaccine tracker estimates that about 23.1% of the population have received at least one dose. That’s compared to NPR’s estimate that 17.7% of people nationwide have received at least one vaccine dose. The next highest state after Alaska is New Mexico.
As of Monday, more than 168,000 Alaskans had received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and more than 117,000 had already received both.
The state’s COVID-19 Vaccine Monitoring Dashboard said that as of Monday, 11,652 of 47,102 Kenai Peninsula Borough residents 16 and older — about 24.7% — had received at least one dose. About 54.5% of people 65 or older in the borough had received at least one dose as of Monday.
The central peninsula’s largest COVID vaccine clinic to date will be held on Saturday at Soldotna Prep School. As of Monday at 2 p.m., there were more than 400 vaccine appointments available for the three clinics, which are being offered by Soldotna Professional Pharmacy and the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management, among others.
The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine will be offered during appointments scheduled between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. The Moderna vaccine will be offered during appointments scheduled between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be offered during appointments scheduled between 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
During a video posted to Facebook on March 6, Soldotna City Manager Stephanie Queen urged people to sign up for the clinic, where she said more than 800 doses will be available. Queen said she was filming the video from the Soldotna Prep parking lot while waiting to get her second vaccine dose, and that the City of Soldotna would be assisting with Saturday’s clinic.
In addition to the large clinic at Soldotna Prep, the Kenai Fire Department is also hosting a large vaccine clinic on Saturday at Beacon Occupational Health from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. As of Monday at 2 p.m., there were more than 101 appointments available. That clinic will offer the Moderna vaccine.
More than 575,000 individual doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been allocated to Alaska since last December. That number includes allocations for Indian Health Services (IHS) and to pharmacies participating in the CDC’s Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 vaccination, to which 10,480 pairs of vaccine had been allocated as of Monday.
Through that program, Alaska’s pharmacy partners are Walmart Inc., Albertsons Companies, Inc. and Walgreens, meaning they receive vaccine allocations in addition to the state’s allocation. Through that program, the Kenai Walmart is able to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to people eligible to receive it. Appointments at Walmart can be scheduled at walmart.com/covidvaccine.
As of Monday, people eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Alaska include: people 55 and older; people 16 and older who are CISA-defined essential workers; those considered high risk due to health conditions; those living in multigenerational households or congregate settings or communities with limited plumbing; those helping someone 65 or older get vaccinated; pre-K through 12th grade education staff members; those providing daily support to a “medically fragile” person; or those interacting with people living in congregate settings as part of their job.
People who would like assistance with scheduling an appointment to be vaccinated can call the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management call center. The center operates Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The central peninsula call center can be reached at 907-262-4636. The Homer call center can be reached at 907-235-4636. The Seward call center can be reached at 907-224-4636.
A map of vaccine providers can be found on DHSS’ COVID-19 vaccine website at covidvax.alaska.gov. Many providers are using the state’s program to schedule appointments, which can be accessed at myhealth.alaska.gov. Instructions on how to schedule an appointment with a provider that does not use the state’s scheduling system can be found on the provider map by clicking on the icon of the provider through which people would like to schedule an appointment. Appointments at Walmart can be scheduled at walmart.com/covidvaccine.
The City of Kenai is offering transportation to and from vaccine clinics located in Kenai in partnership with CARTS and Alaska Cab. 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.
COVID-19 testing locations on the Kenai Peninsula
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.
