First identified in India, the Delta variant has caused waves of new cases in India, China, Sweden and the United Kingdom — and is now on the rise in the United States.
By Monday, roughly 54% of the state’s population age 12 and older had received at least their first dose of the vaccine.
New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska advocated for the change. They had heard from fishermen in their states who said wearing a mask while they work is unsafe
All four deaths — involving two Wasilla residents and one person each from Fairbanks and Sitka — occurred in April.
Alaska currently ranks 28th among states for its per capita vaccination rate.
A Blue Cross Blue Shield analysis in late 2020 found a 26% drop in vaccine doses among children since the pandemic began.
Since Jan. 1, 98% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations in Alaska have been among people who were unvaccinated.
The pace of new vaccinations in the U.S. has dropped to about 400,000 people per day — down from a high of nearly 2 million per day two months ago.
By Monday, about 53% of Alaskans 12 and older had received at least their first dose of vaccine.
A study showed that nearly one-third of teenagers hospitalized with COVID-19 during a surge of cases early this year required intensive care, and 5% required mechanical ventilation.
She met with vaccine skeptics, health care workers and others on a recent trip to the Kenai Peninsula.
Health authorities are trying to determine whether heart inflammation that can occur along with many types of infections could also be a rare side effect in teens and young adults after the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
One spreader of vaccination myths earned more than $34,000 in donations off their Facebook page, a health official said.
A little over half of the state’s eligible population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Alaska’s average daily case counts are now trending down significantly statewide.
President Biden announced a “month of action” Wednesday to urge more Americans to get vaccinated for COVID-19 before the July Fourth holiday.
By Tuesday, at least 317,493 people — around 52% of Alaskans 12 and older — had received at least their first dose of vaccine.
There are three vaccination clinics set up at the airports in Juneau, Fairbanks and Anchorage, but travelers can get the vaccine anywhere it’s offered.
With the adjustment for vaccination, the national death rate is roughly the same as it was two months ago, while the adjusted rates in several states show the pandemic is spreading as fast among the unvaccinated as it did during the winter surge.
