One new COVID case found in Nome

By Julia Lerner
Since last Thursday, Norton Sound Health Corporation has identified two new positive COVID-19 cases in Nome, bringing the total number of active cases in the region to four.
On Sunday, April 25, a Nome resident tested positive for COVID-19 in a community-spread case. The individual is currently quarantining, and close contacts are being notified, according to NSHC Medical Director Dr. Mark Peterson. The individual visited several bars in Nome, including Board of Trade Saloon, Breakers Bar and Polar Bar, prior to receiving their positive test.
NSHC recommended unvaccinated Nomeites who visited the three bars on Wednesday, April 21, or Thursday, April 22, to get tested, quarantine for seven days, and then test again. Those who have already received their vaccination do not need to quarantine but should watch for any COVID symptoms.
A second Nome resident tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, April 26, and was a close contact of a previously identified case.
The two remaining active cases in the region, both in Nome, continue to isolate to prevent further community spread.
Vaccination rates continue to slow in the region, with about 67 percent of the eligible Nome population fully vaccinated. 75 percent of the region has received at least one dose. The region has one of the highest rates of vaccination in the United States, Dr. Peterson said, but he stressed the importance of continuing vaccinations.
“We need to get as close to 100 percent of the eligible population vaccinated as we can,” Dr. Peterson explained in a call with the Nugget. “We’re not out of the woods yet. The best protection we have is to get everybody vaccinated.”
Only 35 people received new vaccines last week, though Dr. Peterson hopes the reauthorization of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine encourages residents to get their shots, he said during a weekly conference call.
“People in our region are excited about Johnson & Johnson because it’s a single dose,” he said in a call with the ∆6
 “It’s deemed to be safe, and the change of a blood clot complication is so low, you’re more likely to have an airplane fall out of the sky.”
On April 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration issued a statement recommending a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after six women who received it developed rare blood clots. More than 6.8 million doses have been administered, including about 400 in the Nome region. Following a week of review, though, the CDC and FDA recommended resuming the use of the single-shot vaccine last Friday.
The risk of clots is “extremely, extremely low,” Peterson said during the weekly NSHC COVID-19 update call. “One in 500,000 people might get a blood clot. That’s not a high risk at all.”
Additionally, Dr. Peterson expects to hear in the next one to three weeks about emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine in children ages 12-15. That age group represents about 5 percent of the area’s population.
The NHSC offers vaccines at the hospital pharmacy, at the Operations Building Testing Center, after hours at Nome City Hall, and twice per week at the Post Office. At the pharmacy, walk-ins are welcome from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. Walk-ins are also welcome on Monday and Thursday from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Post Office, though the post office plans to make vaccines available daily in response to strong community demand. Vaccines at Nome City Hall are available by appointment only on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Vaccines are also available daily at the Nome Airport. NSHC currently offers Pfizer vaccines to travelers arriving at the Nome Airport, and soon will supply Johnson & Johnson’s. Travelers can schedule an appointment for their second Pfizer dose in Nome or at local village clinics.
Across Alaska, 42.4 percent of eligible adults over the age of 16 are fully vaccinated, and an additional 6.8 percent have received their first dose, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.
The state announced 13 new COVID deaths and 430 positive cases since April 23.
Across the United States, only about 40 percent of eligible adults have received at least one dose, and only 29 percent are fully vaccinated.
“I think we’re doing okay in the U.S. and okay in Alaska, but it’s always slower than we’d like to see,” Dr. Peterson said. “The goal is just to keep vaccinating people.”
Vaccines mean that individuals exposed to positive COVID-19 cases will not have to quarantine for seven days, Dr. Peterson said. They also reduce the risk of variants.
“We haven’t had any variants in the region,” Dr. Peterson told the Nugget. He stressed the importance of continuing to vaccinate and staying vigilant with testing. The goal is “to get back to normal,” he said. But, with about 25 percent of eligible Nomeites still unvaccinated, that “normal” is still a ways away.
NSHC’s approach is to bring the vaccine to those who haven’t been able to access it yet, meaning opening more facilities for more hours. The post office administered seven vaccines on the first day they were offered, prompting them to add more days and hours for vaccine availability.
Vaccine misinformation has spread wildly on social media, and Nomeites are not immune to it. Many rumors point to negative health impacts of receiving the vaccines, particularly related to future infertility.
On the weekly NSHC COVID-19 call, Peterson addressed one of the rumors about the vaccine’s impact on male infertility, indicating that the vaccines are “safe” and “highly effective.”
“There are little pockets of vaccine misinformation,” Peterson said. “We do educate folks if we’re seeing that, like on [social media].”
On Monday, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced Executive Order no. 321, clarifying that the state will not require travelers to produce their personal vaccine history, also referred to as a ‘Vaccine Passport,’ in order to travel to, or around, Alaska. Also on Tuesday, the CDC came out with new guidelines that say vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks outside unless they’re with big groups.
As of Tuesday, Alaska has had a total of 64,786 cases, with current 40 hospitalizations and 341 deaths.
In the Nome, Bering Strait and Norton Sound region, there were 344 cases, six hospitalizations and no deaths recorded.

 

The Nome Nugget

PO Box 610
Nome, Alaska 99762
USA

Phone: (907) 443-5235
Fax: (907) 443-5112

www.nomenugget.net

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