Alaska reports 842 COVID-19 cases, 5 deaths and another slight decrease in hospitalizations

Alaska on Thursday reported 842 new circumstances and 5 extra deaths tied to the virus, based on state information.

Alaska’s case charge continues to be the highest in the nation. However after almost three months of accelerating COVID-19 circumstances and hospitalizations which have pushed hospitals to a disaster level, Alaska’s chief medical officer, Dr. Anne Zink, mentioned that she’s “cautiously optimistic” that circumstances and hospitalizations have lastly begun declining across the state.

“We’re beginning to see a little bit of a lower” in circumstances, Zink mentioned throughout a name with reporters Thursday, pointing to information trends that confirmed a 32% lower in newly reported circumstances over the past week in comparison with the week earlier than.

Nonetheless, the state’s test positivity rate stays excessive — almost 1 in 10 checks over the past week have come again optimistic — and “simply because we’re on the best way down, doesn’t imply that it’s over,” Zink mentioned. “We nonetheless have loads of COVID circulating round.”

The variety of folks hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide on Thursday shrank for the third day in a row to 180 whole, although that quantity doesn’t at all times embody folks previous their infectious interval who nonetheless want hospital care.

It’s not clear but that the decline signifies an actual pattern, based on Jeannie Monk, senior vice chairman on the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Residence Affiliation. On a Thursday morning name, hospitals continued to report a excessive variety of very sick sufferers whose wants are intensive, she mentioned.

And whereas hospitals are nonetheless coping with excessive affected person masses and strained assets, they just lately obtained some aid from Decrease 48 well being care staff. As the results of a state contract signed final month to convey up almost 500 well being care staff, 422 staff have arrived within the state up to now, and 330 of them have been assigned to 22 well being care amenities across the state with extra arriving every day, Zink mentioned.

“It’s a palpable, noticeable distinction in our hospitals proper now due to this deployment,” she mentioned.

Greater than 150 of Alaska’s deaths occurred from the start of August up to now — lengthy after vaccines grew to become extensively obtainable to the general public. Meaning a little bit over 1 / 4 of virus-related deaths amongst Alaskans have occurred previously two months. In whole, 569 Alaskans and 21 nonresidents within the state have died with the virus.

The 5 deaths reported Thursday concerned an Anchorage man in his 80s or older, an Anchorage lady in her 40s, a lady from a small neighborhood within the Chugach Census Space in her 60s, a Soldotna man in his 70s and a Soldotna man in his 50s.

By Thursday, 63.7% of Alaskans 12 and older had obtained a minimum of one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

The state’s common take a look at positivity charge over the past week was 9.48%. Epidemiologists say something over 5% can point out widespread transmission and never sufficient testing.

New information launched on hospitalizations and ‘vaccine breakthroughs’ in Alaska

The state Division of Public Well being on Thursday launched a extra complete have a look at hospitalizations, deaths and vaccine breakthrough circumstances since the start of the pandemic by means of August.

• 27% of the ICU stays had been related to a fatality.

• 39% of COVID-19 sufferers who had been on a ventilator died.

• 13 youths have been reported to have multisystem inflammatory syndrome in youngsters, or MIS-C, which may develop weeks after a COVID-19 an infection and infrequently entails hospitalizations. None of these youngsters died.

• August 2021 noticed a rise in virus-related deaths. It was second-deadliest month for Alaska after final December. (September’s dying information has not but been finalized and wasn’t included in Thursday’s report.)

• Extra males than ladies have died with COVID-19.

• The COVID-19 dying charge is highest amongst Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Alaska Native and Asian populations.

• In August, 19% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations and a 3rd of all circumstances concerned individuals who had been vaccinated. The info confirmed that the incidence of COVID-19 amongst vaccinated folks was constantly decrease than amongst individuals who weren’t vaccinated.

In July and August 2021, amongst folks 12 and older who’ve had COVID-19, the incidence of reinfection was 24% increased amongst individuals who had been unvaccinated in comparison with those that had been absolutely vaccinated — displaying that if somebody was beforehand contaminated, getting vaccinated offered even higher safety towards the virus.

The info additionally reveals a few ninefold discount within the threat of hospitalization amongst people who find themselves absolutely vaccinated in comparison with those that are unvaccinated.