By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
A backlog in COVID tests resulted in no new resident cases logged on Sunday, and only one nonresident case added to the Sitka dashboard.
The dashboard today read 7.14 cases per day, and the number of current active cases went into the single digits, at 98.
But apart from numbers, state Public Health Nurse Denise Ewing said the bigger news today is the FDA’s announcement of full approval of the Pfizer vaccine.
Ewing said the FDA approval is “momentous,” and SEARHC’s chief medical officer Dr. Elliot Bruhl called it “a milestone.”
“Health professionals have been waiting for this moment as we continue to be ‘all in’ regarding the COVID pandemic fight,” Ewing said. “It is our hope the public will feel more confident in receiving the vaccine with the FDA approval, not only the FDA emergency approval.”
“It reflects the success of the vaccination not only in terms of its effectiveness but also in terms of its safety,” Bruhl said. “For some portion of the percentage who have yet to be vaccinated it hopefully helps them to move forward. Vaccination is really essential for us to get past this.”
The vaccine also continues to be available under emergency use authorization for individuals age 12-15 and for the administration of a third dose in certain immunocompromised individuals.
The vaccine is safe and effective, Ewing said, “and now, with the full stamp of approval, hopefully this will increase interest in becoming vaccinated. This is exactly what we needed to fight the battle more effectively. And perfect timing now with the booster shots right around the corner.”
“The city EOC is excited for the full approval,” city acting Emergency Operations Incident Commander Rob Janik said today. “It eliminates one potential barrier to getting a shot.”
The FDA announcement has been posted at cityofsitka.org.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine will now be marketed as Comirnaty (pronounced co-MIR-na-tee) for the prevention of COVID, for people age 16 and up, the FDA said.
Daily case counts in Sitka have bounced up and down in the last two weeks, going as high as 21 (19 resident cases) and as low as 1 on Sunday.
Only resident cases are counted for the two-week rolling average, which stood today at 7.14 cases per day. The dashboard is updated at 8 p.m. daily.
Ewing said the number of positive tests dropped off sharply on Sunday because the lab is behind in the testing of samples. In the last seven days, the highest number of positive cases was 14, which were added to the board on August 16. Since then it’s been 8 a day or fewer, including nonresidents.
Five residents and two nonresidents were added Friday, four residents Saturday and nonresident on Sunday. Seven cases were added by press time today including one nonresident.
SEARHC and Harry Race Pharmacy held vaccination clinics last week, with all three vaccines – Pfizer, Moderna and J and J – available.
Sitka’s vaccination rates are edging toward the 80 percent mark, with 5,865 residents partially vaccinated (79.42 percent) and 5,462 listed as “fully vaccinated” (73.96 percent).
Sitkans 65 and up have an 80 percent vaccination rate, according to the state Department of Health and Social Services.
SEARHC and Harry Race report that under FDA guidelines they have been administering a third dose of vaccine to patients in the higher risk categories, including those with transplants and compromised immune systems.
