Alaska has eliminated nearly all barriers to getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Now, anyone who lives or works in the state and is 16 or older can get a dose.
Chief Medical Officer Anne Zink announced the update alongside Gov. Mike Dunleavy Tuesday evening — just three days shy of the one-year anniversary of Alaska’s first COVID-19 case.
“This does feel like a gigantic milestone in so many ways, to get to the point where we can offer protection for anyone who wants it in the state," she said.
Alaska is the first state to open vaccines to all adults.
It’s also the state with the highest rate of vaccinations per capita. In the last three months since the first doses of vaccine came in, by van, plane and snowmachine, the state has immunized over 16 percent of its eligible population, owing in large part to efforts from tribal health providers.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough has fully vaccinated about 16 percent of its population, as well. Over 8,000 of its 48,000 eligible adults have received both shots. An additional 4,000 have had their first dose of the vaccine and 2,500 will get their first doses this week.
Borough Emergency Manager Dan Nelson estimates demand for the vaccine will plateau locally when around half to 55 percent of the borough is vaccinated. Even now, there are hundreds of open vaccine appointments at peninsula clinics.
“Including this upcoming Saturday the 13th in Soldotna," he said. "And the city of Kenai also has appointments open on Saturday the 13th, as well, in Kenai.”
There are also open appointments available through Kenai Walmart and Soldotna Fred Meyer.
Zink said the abundance of open appointments statewide was a factor in the decision to open eligibility. Just last week, the state opened vaccines to a large group that included “essential workers,” Alaskans over 55 and people with high-risk medical conditions.
“And we were seeing appointments sitting and want to just make sure we’re moving as fast as we can, particularly with these variants moving," she said. "And, as the governor mentioned, a lot of people work seasonally and we want to make sure people have the opportunity to be protected before the season.”
Some tribal health providers already opened eligibility to those over 16. The Kenaitze Tribe has been offering the vaccine to all Indian Health Service beneficiaries who want it since January. The SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium has been vaccinating both Native and non-Native Alaskans of all age groups in some Southeast towns since February.
Also this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a set of relaxed guidelines for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 — meaning those who have waited at least two weeks since receiving their last shot.
The CDC said those people can visit with each other indoors, without masks or social distancing. They can do the same with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19.
Vaccinated people should continue to take precautions when around other people who are at high risk for severe COVID-19, the CDC said. That’s because researchers are still unsure how vaccinated people transmit the virus.
The agency is still advising against non-essential trips. For the full set of updated CDC guidelines, click here.
One group of Alaskans remains ineligible for the vaccine — kids.
“There haven’t been studies on the vaccine below that age limit," Nelson said.
Kids weren’t part of the clinical trials for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. So those vaccines are reserved for adults 18 and older.
Alaskans as young as 16 can get the Pfizer vaccine, however, since clinical trials for that vaccine did involve people that young.
There are currently over 300 COVID-19 vaccine appointments open on the central peninsula. To claim one, visit covidvax.alaska.gov. If you need help booking an appointment, you can call the borough call center during the week between 9 a.m. and noon, at (907) 262-4636.
