By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitka edged closer to the “low” alert zone for COVID-19 transmission on Wednesday, the fifth day in a row with no new cases added to the dashboard.
The 14-day rolling average today was at .57 cases per day, a slight decrease after cases dropped off the two-week timeline and no new cases were added from Saturday through Wednesday.
Low alert is below .5 average cases (6 or fewer over 14 days); medium is .5 to 1 cases (7 to 14 cases), and high is above 1 (15 or more over 15 days). The dashboard is updated by 5 p.m. daily.
The case average reached a peak of 5 average cases per day in early December but declined to a low of .36 in late January. Since then the case rates have been in the moderate range – .5 to 1 cases per day, based on the 14-day rolling average of positive test results.
The vaccine rollout has been steady, with SEARHC vaccinating residents age 16 and up. The state and Harry Race Pharmacy on Wednesday opened up registrations for those age 50 and older.
The SEARHC registration is at covid19.searhc.org, and the consortium is holding clinics this week. An announcement from the consortium said the consortium is scheduling for ages 16 and up. Clinics have taken place at Harrigan Centennial Hall and University of Alaska Southeast-Sitka Campus. Friday’s clinic is at Centennial Hall.
SEARHC on Monday reported 2,749 first doses and 1,653 second doses had been administered.
The state and Harry Race Pharmacy have appointments for vaccinations Feb. 17 at the fire hall, for those 50 and older. The link to schedule is:
https://cw2-alaska-production.herokuapp.com/client/registration?clinic_id=554
Trish White, co-owner of Harry Race, said this morning there are 150 time slots open for the Feb. 17 clinic. Harry Race has administered vaccines to hundreds of Sitkans, including dozens who received their first dose of Moderna at Wednesday’s clinic at the fire hall.
SEARHC administers about 300 doses a day; and Harry Race between 100 and 200 a day. Both Pfizer and Moderna require two shots for full efficacy.
The city’s Unified Command group did not meet Wednesday as usual to provide updates on the pandemic, but plan to meet Feb. 17, said Jessica Ieremia, one of the city Emergency Operations Center public information officers.
Ieremia posted several information links from the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on guidance to small and large gatherings and “a quick and easy guide to common questions about COVID-19 vaccines.” Both are on the city coronavirus information page at cityofsitka.org.
The CDC “myths and facts” link, with frequently asked questions is at:
cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html?fbclid=IwAR3Mscu4GkeBiFDp3rKwSulz3SP6FPlf6xHocsSUMsFG5QaRyzwPSry-8Xs.
