Regional COVID cases level out
As COVID-19 cases across the state of Alaska continue to fall, cases in the Nome Census Area remain consistent, hovering around 70 active cases.
According to Norton Sound Health Corporation, there are 68 active cases in the region on Tuesday afternoon, including 28 in Nome, 12 in Brevig Mission, 12 in Stebbins, seven in Unalakleet, four in Shaktoolik, two in Gambell, two in Shishmaref, and one in St. Michael.
On Tuesday, November 30, NSHC identified 17 cases in the region, including six in Stebbins, five in Brevig Mission, three in Nome and three in Shaktoolik. Of the 17 cases, 15 were considered close contacts of previous cases, with the remaining two identified cases in Nome were community spread.
On the first day of December, another 15 individuals tested positive for COVID-19. Six individuals were in Nome, with another four in Brevig, two in Stebbins, one in Gambell, one in Shishmaref and one in Shaktoolik.
The following day, another 12 individuals tested positive across six local communities. Five individuals in Stebbins tested positive, as well as two in Brevig Mission, two in Shaktoolik, one in Gambell, one in Nome and one in St. Michael. Of the 12 identified cases, 11 were close contacts, while one case in Shaktoolik was community spread.
Between Friday, December 3, and Monday, December 6, NSHC identified 20 new COVID-19 cases, including 12 in Nome, 6 in Unalakleet, one in Shishmaref and one in Shaktoolik. Of the 12 cases in Nome, nine were close contacts, two were community spread and one was travel related. One case in Nome was discovered in a NSHC employee, though the employee did not have any contact with patients. Of the remaining eight cases, six were close contacts, though one case in Unalakleet was travel-related and one was
community spread.
NSHC’s medical director Dr. Mark Peterson says COVID cases are persisting because of the unvaccinated population, particularly in Nome.
“[Cases] haven’t dropped off completely, and I’ll tell you the reason is because the largest number of unvaccinated people in our region are in Nome,” he told the Nugget in November. “Those are the people who are at risk. That’s why cases are kind of hanging on.”
Unvaccinated populations are at much higher risk of catching and developing severe symptoms from COVID-19.
“When fully vaccinated, there is still a risk of being infected with COVID-19, but the odds are notably smaller,” according to a NSHC press release. “In this region, NSHC’s trends show that the majority of cases are among unvaccinated individuals, who make up a smaller portion of the population. More importantly, the vaccinated individuals are at a much lower risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death due to the virus.”
According to NSHC, the chance of hospitalization leading to death when someone is fully vaccinated decreases ten-fold.
On Tuesday, 69 percent of the region was fully vaccinated against COVID-19, though some communities reflect much higher vaccination rates than others.
Last week, several villages reported less than half of their village was fully vaccinated, including Brevig Mission, Stebbins, and Teller. Only three communities, including Gambell, Golovin and Nome had fully vaccinated more than 70 percent of their population.
Vaccinated individuals, though, are much more likely to be able to withstand future COVID-19 variants. The omicron variant, discovered just a few weeks ago, has already spread across the world, with several reported cases in the United States. Though Alaska has yet to report any omicron cases, the state will likely see it in the coming weeks.
Across Alaska, there have been a total of 152,537 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, including 1,346 in the last week. In the state, there have been 3,312 hospitalizations, with 77 currently hospitalized and 12 on ventilators. Around the state, 21 ICU beds remain available. In Alaska, 883 people have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March 2020.
In Nome, Norton Sound and the Bering Strait region, there have been 2,112 cases of COVID-19, 21 hospitalizations and two deaths.