Category: Covid-19

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of February 27, 2021, there have been 2,167,906 total confirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 131,580 total cases and 2,297 total deaths.

DHHR has confirmed the deaths of an 83-year old female from Raleigh County, a 76-year old female from Wood County, a 55-year old female from Raleigh County, a 71-year old male from Kanawha County, a 79-year old male from Lewis County and a 47-year old male from Kanawha County.

The continued loss of West Virginia lives weighs heavily on all of us, with the greatest sadness borne by family and friends, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary. We extend our deepest sympathy.

CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (1,204), Berkeley (9,675), Boone (1,575), Braxton (772), Brooke (2,010), Cabell (7,788), Calhoun (229), Clay (376), Doddridge (467), Fayette (2,655), Gilmer (710), Grant (1,067), Greenbrier (2,422), Hampshire (1,528), Hancock (2,591), Hardy (1,265), Harrison (4,827), Jackson (1,666), Jefferson (3,616), Kanawha (12,058), Lewis (1,033), Lincoln (1,220), Logan (2,695), Marion (3,663), Marshall (3,003), Mason (1,767), McDowell (1,350), Mercer (4,211), Mineral (2,580), Mingo (2,122), Monongalia (7,994), Monroe (945), Morgan (931), Nicholas (1,174), Ohio (3,626), Pendleton (619), Pleasants (800), Pocahontas (593), Preston (2,531), Putnam (4,203), Raleigh (4,686), Randolph (2,390), Ritchie (621), Roane (602), Summers (700), Taylor (1,083), Tucker (499), Tyler (615), Upshur (1,679), Wayne (2,610), Webster (319), Wetzel (1,083), Wirt (359), Wood (7,034), Wyoming (1,739).

Delays may be experienced with the reporting of information from the local health department to DHHR. As case surveillance continues at the local health department level, it may reveal that those tested in a certain county may not be a resident of that county, or even the state as an individual in question may have crossed the state border to be tested. Such is the case of Summers County in this report.

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COVID-19 Daily Update 2-27-2021 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

LANSING, MI - COVID-19 relief. Health care reform. Financial disclosures from state lawmakers.

The pace picked up in the Michigan State Capitol this week, with the Senate approving $1.9 billion in COVID-19 relief along partisan lines and the House introducing new legislative pushes to intervene in the prescription drug market.

In committees, lawmakers discussed investigating COVID-19 nursing home policy and questioned Gov. Gretchen Whitmers choice to lead the state health department.

Heres a look at Lansing happenings from the week of Feb. 22-26.

Sen. Jim Stamas listens as votes are taken at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on Thursday, April 25, 2019. Neil Blake | MLive.comNeil Blake | MLive.com

Michigan Senate approves $1.9 billion COVID-19 relief plan amid fierce debate

The Michigan Senate approved more than $1.9 billion in COVID-19 supplemental appropriations Thursday, opting to provide piecemeal funding to various sectors affected by the pandemic.

Senate bills 29 and 114 were passed partisan lines 20-15 during the Feb. 25 session. The two bills would appropriate mostly federal dollars to fund vaccine distribution, COVID-19 testing, emergency rental assistance, school aid, plus an extension and increase on direct care worker payments.

The $1.9 billion package is about a third of Gov. Gretchen Whitmers initial $5.6 billion supplemental proposal.

Read more: Michigan Senate approves $1.9 billion for vaccine distribution, direct care worker payments, school aid

The vote took multiple hours to complete, in part due to debate over a provision that removes the state from sending vaccines to regions based on race, socioeconomic level, age and 12 other factors.

The removal of the states Social Vulnerability Index was introduced by Sen. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, who argued that the index creates inefficiencies in getting seniors the vaccine and his proposal is about fairness.

Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, argued Wednesday during the Senate Appropriations Committee that the current index distributes vaccines to communities more if you have minority status and you dont speak English that well than for someone who is over 65 years old.

The vaccine is not currently available for general public use.

I dont care what race they are. I dont care what ethnicity they are. I dont care what language they speak. These are the people who are vulnerable to die, Runestad said, referencing senior residents.

Sen. Erika Geiss, D-Taylor, called the amendment from Republicans racist bulls---.

Some of the same people pushing to deny using the SVI are among those who pushed against the most basic practice of wearing masks when around others, Geiss wrote in multiple posts on Twitter, who framed COVID early on as Black people were getting sick and dying as a Detroit problem, who said things like build a wall around Southeast Michigan, who fought the governor tooth & nail every step of the way claiming they had no legislative power but never introduced any meaningful legislation around addressing the pandemic. But now, suddenly, are demanding that the state ignore the most vulnerable communities. Its a bunch of racist bulls---.

Several amendments from Democrats put forward on the floor were voted down.

Senate begins vetting DHHS director

The Senate Advice and Consent Committee began its vetting process for new Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel this week, who on Thursday told lawmakers the state is headed in the right direction on COVID-19 while asserting her departments authority to respond to it.

In the instance of a public health crisis or a public health emergency, its absolutely the responsibility of the state health department to take action and have that authority, she said.

Hertel, a former deputy director in the department, was Gov. Gretchen Whitmers pick to lead the MDHHS after former director Robert Gordon abruptly announced his resignation on Twitter last month. Its currently the highest-profile role subject to the Senates advice and consent process, which gives the chamber 60 days to reject certain gubernatorial appointees by majority vote.

Whether Hertels appointment wins approval from a majority of senators remains unclear. Senate Republicans have used the advice and consent process to reject 18 Whitmer appointees this year as a show of disapproval against the Whitmer administrations COVID-19 response.

The Advice and Consent Committee is expected to meet with Hertel again next week for further questioning.

Related: Michigan headed in right direction on COVID-19, MDHHS director says during Senate vetting

Joint resolution passes House, Senate buries in committee

On Wednesday, the Michigan House cleared a resolution to overhaul how lame duck works, voting 102-7 to require a two-thirds vote on any bill taken up after November general elections in even years.

The resolution is sponsored by Michigan House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, and is part of his overall push to improve government transparency and ethics laws. He and other supporters of the lame-duck change such as Rep Terry Sabo, D-Muskegon, have said it would help prevent term-limited lawmakers from making major partisan policy changes at the last minute.

We have a problem when it comes to transparency and trust, and this is a great step out of many to help fix that, he said. Ive seen over the years, some pretty terrible lame duck activity...its just not the way the state government should be operating.

House Joint Resolution A was sent to the Senates Government Operations Committee.

Rep. David LaGrand speaks from the House Chamber floor at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on Thursday, April 25, 2019.Neil Blake | MLive.com

Elected officials in Michigan would disclose financial records in new House bill

Michigan lawmakers are reengaging on an effort to mandate elected officials to fill out financial disclosure forms.

A previous effort fizzled in 2019, when a similar legislative package spearheaded by Rep. David LaGrand, D-Grand Rapids, failed to reach the House floor for a vote despite approval from House Elections and Ethics Committee.

LaGrand and a bipartisan group of House representatives are trying again to address the states lagging transparency rankings.

Michigan is one of two states and the only one with a full-time legislature with no requirement for state public officials to disclose basic financial information, including income sources, business investments, gifts and travel compensation. Michigan ranked last in the Center for Public Integritys 2015 State Integrity Investigation, a wide-ranging 2015 report that documented several facets of each states transparency laws.

Michigan House battling health care insurance industry to control drug prices

A bipartisan group of state House representatives on Wednesday introduced health care reforms that aim to cap costs on medications and improve transparency in the price-setting process.

The 15-bill package, sponsored by 10 Republicans and five Democrats, would attempt to control prescription drug pricing through various methods, including capping co-pays on medications such as insulin, regulating the middlemen between health insurers and drug manufacturers and requiring more reporting on how hospitals, pharmacies and insurers set prices.

A full list of the proposed reforms can be viewed here.

Read more: Michigan House package aims to curb skyrocketing prescription drug, health care costs

MDHHS director declines to committee invite to discuss nursing home policies

Despite an invitation from the House Oversight Committee, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director Elizabeth Hertel declined to attend a Thursday hearing.

She instead sent a letter stating that the state has done an exemplary job of collecting, tracking and validating data on nursing homes.

Oversight Chair Rep. Steven Johnson, R-Wayland, wants several more questions answered, including how many long-term care facility residents died in nursing facilities versus hospitals and why the states numbers differ from the CDCs reporting on the state.

Johnson also alluded to New Yorks nursing home situation, where the state led by Governor Andrew Cuomo has underreported nursing home deaths according to the Associated Press.

These questions must be answered by our governor and DHHS, Johnson wrote in a statement. They continue to claim our state has the most accurate data yet have not supplied us with what we have been asking for weeks. The Oversight Committee also heard compelling testimony from residents that showed just how disastrous these nursing home policies are. Its time the Governor and DHHS listen to the people of Michigan.

Election reforms recommended by Auditor General make it out of committee

The Auditor General recommended in a 2019 a series of election reforms that included cleaning up the qualified voter files list of names, ensuring better training of local clerks and improving campaign finance reporting.

Three Republicans and two Democrats in the House sponsored five bills to address these problems. The same bills died in the last legislative session, but have made it out of the Election and Ethics committee for a future vote on the House floor.

House bills 4127-4131 would:

Related: Michigan Republicans want election reform. That usually means opposing absentee ballot expansion

Democrats push for expanded unemployment benefits

A group of House and Senate Democrats rolled out legislation aimed at increasing the duration of unemployment benefits and the amount of money those who qualify are eligible to receive.

Led by House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski, D-Scio Twp., and Rep. Terry Sabo, D-Muskegon, in the House and Sens. Erika Geiss, D-Taylor, and Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, in the Senate, the legislation would restore the number of benefit weeks from 20 to 26 weeks, a policy proposal long supported by Democrats.

The bills would also increase the weekly maximum for unemployment benefits from $362 to $593 and would subsequently index that amount to 58% of the state average weekly wage annually. Unemployed workers who dont qualify for the weekly maximum unemployment benefit would receive 6.1% of their highest quarter earnings instead of the current 4.1%.

The package would reverse changes to the states unemployment system approved in 2012.

Continued here:

COVID-19 relief, health care reform and more transparency: This week in Michigan politics - MLive.com

Some of it is, Oh, I can go next week, this week doesnt work for me, what do you have in the future? And I think a little bit on the hesitancy of feeling sick after that second dose because we know the second dose is where you might have that stronger immune response, Harris said.

Continue reading here:

People skipping their COVID-19 second dose appointments is causing issues, health officials say - WSOC Charlotte

Anyone living with school-aged children in England will be entitled to two rapid coronavirus tests a week when pupils return to the classroom, the government has said.

All secondary school and college students will be tested twice a week when they go back on 8 March, according to the prime minister's roadmap out of lockdown.

But now ministers are promising all members of their households twice-weekly swabs as well.

The new measures apply to anyone in a household or support bubble with a child or young person who goes to college, primary or secondary school in England, the Department of Health and Social Care said.

Coronavirus tests for family members will be available at 500 pickup locations nationwide, existing local testing sites or schemes at their workplaces.

The government says that as lockdown restrictions ease with the return of schools and more social mixing in March, asymptomatic, rapid testing will help keep COVID-19 rates down while vaccines are being rolled out.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: "Testing family members will provide yet another layer of reassurance to parents and education staff that schools are as safe as possible, building on the massive increase in testing for secondary school and college students, and strengthened requirements around face coverings in areas where social distancing cannot be maintained."

Public Health England's medical director Dr Yvonne Doyle also urged people to take up the offer, saying: "I would encourage all eligible households to take up the offer of twice weekly rapid testing - it's quick and painless and could help save lives."

Primary school children will not be tested once they return en masse in England, as scientists say there is no evidence of high transmission of the virus among such young age groups.

But although the government is promoting the use of rapid lateral flow tests (LFTs), some experts claim they are insensitive and can be ineffective.

Previously, public health expert Professor Robert Dingwall claimed LFTs were "pretty useless".

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"These mass tests miss people with early infections, so they are not really any kind of solution," Prof Dingwall told Sky News.

"The government has bought a huge stockpile of these tests and something has to be done with them."

Some studies have suggested rapid tests fail to pick up cases, while others claim their sensitivity - when compared with traditional lab testing - can offer insights on whether infections are rising or falling in a particular area.

Original post:

COVID-19: Families of school-aged children to get two rapid tests a week - Sky News

Powered by Watson:

Our COVID Q&A with Watson is an AI-powered chatbot that addresses consumers' questions and concerns about COVID-19. It's built on the IBM Watson Ads Builder platform, which utilizes Watson Natural Language Understanding, and proprietary, natural- language-generation technology. The chatbot utilizes approved content from the CDC and WHO. Incidents information is provided by USAFacts.org.

To populate our Interactive Incidents Map, Watson AI looks for the latest and most up-to- date information. To understand and extract the information necessary to feed the maps, we use Watson Natural Language Understandingfor extracting insights from natural language text and Watson Discovery for extracting insights from PDFs, HTML, tables, images and more.COVID Impact Survey, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for the Data Foundation

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Elmont, NY Coronavirus Information - Safety Updates, News ...

Thursday, February 25, 2021

A trend is emerging. Commercial health plans are delaying and even denying reimbursement for COVID-19 hospitalizationsespecially high-dollar inpatient stays. Plans are attempting to defer these claims to workers compensation on the health plans assertion that COVID-19 is a work-related illness. Some hospitals defer to health plans, as it relates to these types of claims, because it is plausible that patients could have contracted COVID-19 at work and because workers compensation is typically primary for coordination of benefits purposes. But workers compensation is notoriously complex, and hospitals may not understand the nuances of the program enough to know when it is appropriate to challenge this type of health plan denial. Failing to appeal these denials may impact hospital reimbursement, as well as a hospitals accounts receivable days, known as AR days, depending on the number of COVID hospitalizations and the corresponding amount in open balances. It is definitely a conundrum. The goal of this article is to provide hospitals and its business offices with a better understanding of COVID-19 as an occupational illness to enable hospitals to be better equipped to determine when it is appropriate to challenge health plans that seek to delay or deny reimbursement for COVID hospitalizations.

It is important to have a general understanding of workers compensation coverage. Workers compensation is a state-mandated insurance program that protects employers and employees from financial loss when employees suffer job-related injuries and illnesses. Virtually all employers, even small employers, must maintain workers compensation coverage. If an employee suffers an occupational injury or illness, an employer through its workers compensation carrier may provide missed wage replacement, temporary and permanent disability, death benefits, and supplemental benefits. But one of the basic benefits in all states is medical and hospital benefits. Each state regulates workers compensation coverage differently, which is a critical factor with respect to COVID-19 and whether a health plan may delay or deny payment. In some states, employer premiums for workers compensation policies are experience-rated, meaning that employers that file more claims pay more in premium.

Patient X is a grocery worker who becomes ill and is eventually hospitalized with a COVID-19 diagnosis. Upon discharge, the hospital submits the bill to the health plan. The health plan fails to timely adjudicate the claim. Instead, the health plan contacts the hospital and states that it needs additional information. The health plan believes the patient is covered by workers compensation because the patient probably acquired the virus at work. Should workers compensation cover Patient Xs hospitalization?

Its complicated.

When it comes to COVID-19 as an occupational illness, states have responded differently. On one hand, 17 states and Puerto Rico have extended workers compensation coverage to include COVID-19 as a work-related illness. Within this group of states, there are varying degrees of coverage.[1] The majority of these states have established COVID-19 workers compensability presumptions for various types of workers. In these states, if a designated worker contracts COVID-19, it is generally presumed that the worker acquired the virus during the course of employment thus eligible for workers compensation, including medical and hospital benefits. But employers can dispute this presumption and produce evidence to the contrary, if done so within a certain amount of time under state law. Hospitals are often left out of this decision-making process, which is unfortunate because hospitals may have additional information about where the worker contracted COVID-19.

On the other hand, some states still consider COVID-19 an ordinary disease of life, similar to a cold or the flu, which means the virus is not covered by workers compensation. Still other states have taken no action to clarify whether COVID-19 hospitalizations and treatments should or should not be covered by workers compensation.

Workers compensation laws were difficult to navigate prior to the pandemic, which makes the recent patchwork of legislation and executive orders classifying COVID-19 as an occupational illness even more difficult to understand. As a result, health plans may accidentally or intentionally delay or deny reimbursement.

Take Patient X for example. Grocery workers in California may be entitled to workers compensation.[2] But elsewhere, these same workers are not entitled to benefits. A health plan with members in several states, including California, might seek to delay or deny payment to hospitals elsewhere because the health plan is successful in ultimately denying the same COVID hospitalizations in California. Therefore, it is important for hospitals to review all claims when health plans seek to delay or deny payment for COVID hospitalizations.

It is complicated to determine if a patients stay is covered by workers compensation when faced with a health plan that attempts to delay or deny payment. If faced with this scenario, hospitals should consider the following:

(1) Understand your state workers compensation laws and the coverage available for COVID-19 hospitalizations. Determine if the state where the hospital is located designates COVID-19 as an occupational illness and whether the patients occupation falls within the states definition of a covered worker.

(2) If the patient is not eligible for coverage under workers compensation, then the hospital should appeal the health plans delay in or denial of reimbursement. In addition, the hospital should consider contacting the patients employer to jointly assess whether to dispute any state presumptions that a worker contracted COVIID-19 on the job.

(3) If workers compensation denies all or part of a claim, the hospital should submit the remainder of the bill to the health plan.

(4) As an employer, the hospital should understand whether its own workers compensation policy is experience-rated. If so, the hospital may want to be more diligent about ensuring the hospitals health plan or health plan administrator does not inappropriately delay or deny claims based on workers compensation coverage.

[1] States limit coverage to covered workers, with each state defining occupations that fall within the scope of coverage.

[2]See Cal. Labor Code 3212.88.

Polsinelli PC, Polsinelli LLP in CaliforniaNational Law Review, Volume XI, Number 56

See original here:

Who is Going to Cover COVID-19 Hospitalizations? - The National Law Review

After 56 years together, COVID-19 forced them apart - OPB

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Alice Maurer, 79, waits 15 minutes after receiving her COVID-19 vaccination at Friendsview Retirement Community in Newberg, Ore., Feb. 5, 2021. Maurer's husband is in the memory care unit at Friendsville and on hospice, and she hopes that since she has been vaccinated, she will be able to visit him soon.

Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB

On Valentines Day this year, Alice Mauer brought her husband, Nick, a big bouquet of colorful balloons.

Theyve been married 56 years. Nick Mauer has advanced Alzheimers and is partially blind, so communicating with him is a challenge.

I think he sees enough hell be able to see the movement of bright colors, Alice said. Itll be something to catch his attention.

But she couldnt give him the balloons herself. She couldnt even see him. Instead, she handed them to staff at the Friendsview retirement community, where the couple lives, Alice in an apartment for independent residents on the 5th floor, Nick in hospice care on a closed memory care unit in the same building.

Though they live just floors apart, Alice has been only rarely able to see or touch her husband in the past year because of COVID-19 and long term care visitation restrictions, in what may be the final year of his life.

I just want to be able to hug him and kiss him, she said.

Separation from family and friends is one of the hardest things about the pandemic. For bed-bound nursing home and long term care residents, its a particularly harsh consequence of the rules meant to keep COVID-19 out of the facilities where it has done the most harm.

For couples with a spouse living in long-term care, that separation can be particularly challenging.

Alice and Nick are retired missionaries. Shes 79, and hes 87.

They met when Alice was a college student at George Fox University, just across the street from the retirement community where they now live. Nick had thick hair back then, she says, and Coke-bottle glasses.

It wasnt his looks that drew me to him. It was his spirit, she said. He had a concern, a commitment to God, a seriousness about life that was very appealing to me. That was the first thing that drew me to him.

And a beautiful deep bass voice, she added with a laugh.

"I'm so thankful," says Alice Maurer, 79, after she receives a COVID-19 vaccination from McMinnville paramedic Elle Miller, earlier this month. Maurer lives in an apartment for independent residents on the 5th floor at Friendsview, while her husband Nick lives in hospice care on a closed memory care unit in the same building.

Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB

The Mauers moved around a lot together, working as missionaries in the Peruvian Andes, singing hymns in Spanish and the indigenous Amyra language. They moved to Idaho, then back to Oregon. They had three kids.

Alice says they were both strong-willed people. It was a loving marriage, and a challenging one.

We made a commitment when we were first married that this was for life, she said. This is what Gods plan is for life, and that no matter what, we were sticking it out.

When the pandemic first started, Alice says she was completely unable to see Nick. Then, for a while, visitation restrictions at Friendsview were relaxed for people with spouses on hospice. She wore a mask and was able to sit at his bedside.

He doesnt know who I am anymore, but I know who he is, she said. And he knows Im somebody special, I think. He responds in a way that theres got to be some connection.

She would play Nick recordings of their children on her cell phone and sing to him.

Sometimes when I get to singing the old hymns and songs, it would perk in his mind and he would sing along, she said.

But as cases in the community surged this past fall, those visits ended. Indoor visitation at long term care facilities is not allowed in counties the state rates at Extreme Risk for COVID-19 spread, or in facilities that had a resident or staff member test positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days.

Friendsview has reported a handful of positive cases and exposures, though never a full-blown outbreak.

.Alice was able to visit Nick for about three days around Christmas, but otherwise, she hasnt been able to sit with him for the past five months. She says he is getting loving care at Friendsview, and she understands the need for restrictions on in-person visits.

Michelle Townley, RN, left, talks with Alice Maurer, 79, while Maurer waits 15 minutes after receiving her COVID-19 vaccination. Alice Maurer is hoping to be able to visit her husband Nick after shes fully vaccinated.

Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB

It doesnt mean you like them, but weve been thankful that theyre working so hard to keep us safe, she said.

And a reunion may happen soon. In mid-February, Nick received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Alice got her first a few days before at a clinic held for Friendsview residents. It was amazing, she said, to be surrounded by friends and neighbors.

I kept saying, Oh, hi, she said. It was like a family reunion, that feeling of joy.

Alice is hoping to be able to visit Nick after shes fully vaccinated.

The state and CDC have yet to announce new guidance around visitation policies in long-term care facilities where residents have been vaccinated.

Yamhill County, where Alice and Nick live, is still considered at extreme risk for COVID-19, according to the states system. But the number of cases there is falling, and that could change soon, making it possible for Alice to see Nick again consistently.

Shes thought about the hymn she wants to sing to him: Leaning on the Everlasting Arm. Shes going to sing it in the Amayra language, like they used to when they were young missionaries living in Peru. Thats the way Nick remembers it best, and sometimes, he can sing it along with her.

I just cant help but feel that if I can give him a big hug and kiss, and hold his hand and sing I just cant wait, she said.

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A federal program was supposed to bring COVID-19 vaccination right to the door of seniors living in long-term care: like nursing homes, assisted living, and memory care. But confusion over how to enroll left thousands of the highest priority Oregonians waiting weeks longer than necessary for their shots.

Some Oregonians said a Legacy Health website for scheduling vaccine appointments would not let them complete a reservation Monday morning.

Oregon may have quietly reached a monumental milestone last week in the fight against COVID-19.

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After 56 years together, COVID-19 forced them apart - OPB News

GREEN BAY (WKOW/WBAY) -- So far, just over 6 percent of Wisconsin's population has been vaccinated, and it may seem only natural to want to go back to a semblance of normal life by hanging in larger groups or ditching the mask.

For now, doctors are asking you not to, and want fully vaccinated Wisconsinites to continue social distancing and masking up.

Theres this mixed message, like, Okay, you should get the vaccine but then you have to continue to do everything just the same as you had been doing it, said Bellin Healths Infectious Disease Physician Dr. Michael Landrum. So then its, Well, whats the advantage of it? Why am I getting it?

Dr. Landrum tells our Green Bay affiliate that the vaccines are very effective in preventing the virus, and the risk of dying as a result of COVID-19 is virtually zero.

But to that point, the vaccines currently on the market don't offer 100 percent immunity, and researchers still don't know if the vaccine reduces transmission. To that end, Landrum says masking up and social distancing are still the way to add that extra layer of protection for yourself and others.

He says he expects the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to come out with some more concrete post-vaccination protocols in the coming days.

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Doctors asking people who have been fully vaccinated to continue COVID-19 protocols - WKOW

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The newest case count is part of a trend in Alaska of declining infections over the last two months, following a peak in November and early December that strained hospital capacity. Hospitalizations are now less than a quarter of what they were in November and December.

By Thursday, there were 41 people with COVID-19 in hospitals throughout the state, including five on ventilators. Another four patients were believed to have the virus.

The COVID-19 vaccine reached Alaska in mid-December. By Thursday, 149,992 people 21% of Alaskas total population had received at least their first vaccine shot, according to the states vaccine monitoring dashboard. Thats far above the national average of 13.6%.

Among Alaskans 16 and older, 27% had received at least one dose of vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine has been authorized for use for people ages 16 and older, and Modernas has been cleared for use in people 18 and older. At least 95,257 people had received both doses of the vaccine. Alaska has currently vaccinated more residents per capita than any other state, according to a national tracker.

Health care workers and nursing home staff and residents were the first people prioritized to receive the vaccine. Alaskans older than 65 became eligible in early January, and the state further widened eligibility criteria this month to include educators, people 50 and older with a high-risk medical condition, front-line essential workers 50 and older and people living or working in congregate settings like shelters and prisons. On Wednesday, officials said people who help Alaskans 65 and older get a vaccination are now eligible to get a vaccine.

Those eligible to receive the vaccine can visit covidvax.alaska.gov or call 907-646-3322 to sign up and to confirm eligibility. The phone line is staffed 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on weekends.

While most regions of the state have seen declining cases, the Matanuska-Susitna region has recently seen a spike in new infections, and this week surpassed the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta to record the highest average daily case rate in the state. As of Wednesday, the Mat-Su has seen 34.41 cases per 100,000 over the past 14 days.

Of the 149 cases reported among Alaska residents on Thursday, there were 31 in Anchorage, plus two in Chugiak, two in Eagle River, and three in Girdwood; 11 in Cordova; one in Soldotna; one in Ester; 23 in Fairbanks plus four in North Pole; one in Delta Junction; ten in Palmer; four in Sutton-Alpine; 32 in Wasilla; one in Nome; one in Juneau; seven in Ketchikan; and 10 in Petersburg;

In communities smaller than 1,000 people not named to protect privacy, there was one in the Prince of Wales and Hyder Census Area; two in the Bethel Census Area; and one in Dillingham.

There were also 41 nonresident cases including one in Anchorage, one in Fairbanks, one in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, one in Juneau, 34 in Unalaska, and three in an unidentified region of the state.

While people might get tested more than once, each case reported by the state health department represents only one person.

The states data doesnt specify whether people testing positive for COVID-19 have symptoms. More than half of the nations infections are transmitted from asymptomatic people, according to CDC estimates.

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Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 190 infections, no deaths reported Thursday - Anchorage Daily News

Taste of Italy has been a staple along South College Road, now, for more than a generation. This Italian specialty deli has a loyal following. Any hour of any given day, youll see people lined up at the register. The deli now also expanding its take out options for people to prep at home. New freezer and cases taking the place of dining room chairs. Right now, the dining room remains off limits, and Guarino says, it may stay that way indefinitely.

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Some local businesses reinventing themselves in the face of COVID-19 - WECT