New COVID cases are all over the region

By Julia Lerner
Norton Sound Health Corporation has identified 80 new COVID-19 cases in the region over the last week as diagnoses hit record highs across the state of Alaska.
On Tuesday, August 24, nine individuals tested positive for COVID-19, including six individuals in St. Michael, two in Savoonga and one in Stebbins.
The following day, 32 additional individuals tested positive for COVID-19. Twenty-eight cases were found in Stebbins, which remains under a strict lockdown. Of the remaining four cases, two were in St. Michael and two were in Shishmaref.
On Thursday, August 26, 12 individuals tested positive for COVID-19. Three were found in Stebbins, two individuals are in Unalakleet, two in St. Michael, two in Elim, two in Little Diomede and one in an undisclosed location.
Over the weekend, NSHC identified an additional 22 cases in several villages. Five additional residents tested positive in Little Diomede between Friday and Sunday, as well as four in Stebbins, four in St. Michael, four in Savoonga, two in Nome, two in Koyuk, and two in Elim.
On Monday, NSHC identified five positive COVID-19 cases. Two were found in Nome, one in Stebbins, one in Brevig Mission, and one in Golovin, meaning COVID has been discovered in more than half of the village in the region in the last week.
Of the 97 active cases in the region, 51 remain in Stebbins, 16 are in St. Michael, seven are in Little Diomede, seven are in Nome, six are in Savoonga, four are in Elim, two are in Unalakleet, two are in Koyuk, one is in Brevig Mission and one is in Golovin.  
The emergence of COVID-19 in Little Diomede triggered a lockdown in the village. Stebbins and St. Michael also remain in lockdown, which will continue until there are no new COVID-19 cases identified in a 14-day window.
“The Delta variant is everywhere now,” explained NSHC medical director Dr. Mark Peterson. “We had new cases over the weekend, but overall, total active cases are way down because a lot of those people in the Stebbins and St. Michael outbreaks are coming out of isolation.”
Currently, about 64 percent of the entire region is fully vaccinated, meaning Nome, Norton Sound and the Bering Strait have almost reached NSHC’s goal of 70 percent. More than 80 percent of eligible individuals, including anyone over the age of 12 in the region, are fully vaccinated, though Dr. Peterson hopes that number will rise as the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has received full FDA approval.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, formally named and marketed as “Comirnaty,” received full FDA approval for use last Monday, and since then, NSHC has administered 60 “first dose” vaccines in the region, a significant jump over the weeks prior.
“We’re hoping that people who were waiting for full approval will now feel comfortable getting the vaccine,” Dr. Peterson told the Nugget. “We’re hoping it boosts vaccination rates. We hope that full FDA approval gets some people excited who were sort of waiting in the wings, waiting to get full FDA approval. Now that they see that it’s fully approved, we’re hoping that they will jump on board and get vaccinated.”
Booster vaccines, or a third dose of the Pfizer “Comirnaty” and the Moderna vaccines, will be available from NSHC on September 7, Peterson said.
“A third dose gives you a better antibody response,” Dr. Peterson explained. “It appears that at about six months after the second dose, immunity starts to wane and starts to drop a bit, and that’s when they’re starting to see some people get reinfection with COVID, so that’s why they’re recommending a third dose booster. They’re going to recommend that for everybody in the country.”
Anyone who is more than six months out from their second dose of Pfizer or Moderna is eligible for the third booster vaccine, Dr. Peterson said. Vaccines will be available in regional clinics as well as at the NSHC pharmacy in Nome.
COVID-19 cases are on the rise across Alaska. Just last week, the state of Alaska identified the highest count of COVID-19 cases in a single day since the pandemic began in early 2020. On Thursday, August 26, more than 700 people tested positive for COVID, and hospitals are stretched thin. There are currently 152 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 in Alaska, and there are only 17 ICU beds available across the state. On Tuesday, August 31, there were 18 individuals relying on ventilators.
Despite the rise in COVID-19 cases, Dr. Peterson says there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
“The Delta variant outbreaks in other countries typically ran about a three-month course,” he said. Because the Nome region’s outbreak began in mid-August, Peterson is “hopeful that things will be winding down by the middle of November, if not sooner.”
Since the pandemic began, Alaska has had a total of 87,908 COVID-19 cases, including 3,632 in the last week. There have been 2,201 hospitalizations in the state, including the 152 individuals currently hospitalized and 438 individuals have died from COVID, including six people (four residents, two non-residents) whose deaths were reported on Tuesday.  
In Nome, Norton Sound and the Bering Strait region, there have been 874 COVID-19 cases, including 80 in the last week. Eight individuals in the region have been hospitalized with COVID, and there have been zero deaths.