Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 38 cases and no deaths reported Tuesday

Alaska on Tuesday reported 38 new coronavirus infections and no deaths linked to COVID-19, according to the Department of Health and Social Services.

Alaska’s average daily case counts are now trending down significantly statewide. The state last week went from a high alert level to an intermediate alert level for the first time since September, indicating less spread and fewer cases overall, though a few regions remain at a high alert level due to higher case rates.

Anyone 12 and older who lives or works in Alaska can now receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Alaskans can visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 to sign up for a vaccine appointment, and new appointments are added regularly. The phone line is staffed from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends.

Only Pfizer’s vaccine is approved for children as young as 12; the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved only for those 18 and older.

[Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine works in kids as young as 12]

By Tuesday, about 308,291 people — 51% of Alaskans 12 and older — had received at least their first dose of vaccine. At least 271,697 people — 45% of eligible Alaskans — were considered fully vaccinated, according to the state’s vaccine monitoring dashboard.

Also by Tuesday, there were 16 people with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in hospitals throughout the state, far below a peak in late 2020.

In total, 362 Alaskans and seven nonresidents with COVID-19 have died since the pandemic reached the state last spring. Alaska’s death rate per capita remains among the lowest in the country, though the state’s size, health care system and other factors complicate national comparisons.

Among the 38 cases reported in Alaska residents on Tuesday, there were 12 cases in Anchorage; seven in Fairbanks; three in smaller communities within the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area; three in Wasilla; two in Juneau; two in North Pole; two in Kenai; one in Anchor Point; one in Salcha; one in Palmer; one in Ketchikan; one in Unalaska; one in a small community in the Bethel Census Area; and one in a small community in the Kusilvak Census Area.

No new nonresident cases were reported.

While people might get tested more than once, each case reported by the state health department represents only one person.

The state’s data doesn’t specify whether people testing positive for COVID-19 have symptoms. More than half of the nation’s infections are transmitted from asymptomatic people, according to CDC estimates.

— Annie Berman