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In Lake Iliamna communities, COVID-19 vaccines could be available to everyone within a month

Courtesy of Dustin Parker

Bristol Bay’s brisk rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine is expected to continue in many communities. But vaccinations may stall at some facilities in other parts of the region that have already vaccinated qualified residents, since the state likely won’t expand eligibility in February.

This is an update of the story published Wednesday, January 27.

 

In communities around Lake Iliamna, the Southcentral Foundation has administered about 150 doses of the Moderna vaccine so far. Region manager Dustin Parker said the process has been smooth.

“We’re able to get as much vaccine as we have on hand into the arms of the residents of the Iliamna Lake region,” he said. 

Southcentral Foundation expects to administer the first dose to lake residents over age 50 by the end of next week, and it will continue to vaccinate essential workers.

The federal government gave the state 41,100 vaccines for February, and Alaska’s Indian Health Service facilities received 18,500. The number of vaccines the state distributes to communities is based on population.

Parker said the foundation requested 300 doses from the state for February. If granted, vaccines at its Lake Iliamna clinics could be available to everyone by March.

The vaccine is currently available to people age 65 and older, health care workers and people in long term care facilities. But once Southcentral’s Lake Iliamna communities fulfill the state's vaccine eligibility tiers, they can start to vaccinate the next group of people. 

Parker said everyone they’ve contacted to schedule a vaccination has signed up.

“No one has said no, they don’t want the vaccine. Everyone has actually wanted the vaccine," he said. "Right now the conversation has been around receiving the second shot, because there has definitely been an immune response. People are a little more achy, a little more fatigued. But everybody that I’ve talked to said that if there was a requirement for a third shot, we would still do it.”

In the rest of Bristol Bay, more than 1,200 people have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine already — roughly a fifth of the region’s population. Three health organizations administered those doses: the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation, state public health in Dillingham and the Camai Community Health Center in Naknek. 

The Camai clinic received 50 vaccines for February. Director Mary Swain said it will have enough doses as long as eligibility doesn’t change. 

“The hindrance will only be at play if they do open an additional tier within the phase that we’re in currently. But we will be fine with that allocation if they keep the phases and tiers the same through the month of February,” she said.

The state said it likely won’t expand vaccine eligibility in February. Swain said Camai can still continue to vaccinate teachers in the borough, but won’t be able to vaccinate additional essential workers.

“They said the earliest that they anticipate opening any additional tiers would be late February, first part of March," she said. "So unfortunately that is not good for our community but we will do what we can.”

The Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation has administered more than 950 doses of the vaccine — about 15% of the region’s population.

The health corporation receives allocations from both the Indian Health Service and the state.

“Currently, BBAHC does not foresee any delay in vaccine delivery for residents in the service area," said Bernina Venua, the incident commander for its COVID-19 task force. "So we will try to continue and push as much as we can for eligible participants or people who would like to receive the vaccine.”

The health corporation holds vaccine clinics at Kanakanak Hospital in Dillingham every Saturday to offer both the first and second doses of the vaccine to eligible individuals.

Anyone in the region can sign up for the health corporation’s vaccination waitlist. In Dillingham you can do so by calling the hospital. In other communities, you can sign up by calling their local health clinic. You will be contacted as additional vaccine doses become available.

“It is nice to have additional people that we can call in case we do have those extras, because we would like to ensure that we do not waste any doses," she said. "Some people may not fit in one of the priority lists, but that doesn’t mean we won’t vaccinate you according to the availability of the vaccine.”

Dillingham’s public health center will administer vaccines through Friday. 

“We would just love if anybody knows family or friends or neighbors that are eligible to have them give us a call at the health center," said nurse Gina Carpenter. "We are doing home visits for folks who can’t make it into the health center.”

To set up an appointment, or to schedule a time to get vaccinated at home, call 907-842-5981.

People can receive second doses of the vaccine Feb. 3, 9 and 11 — call the Dillingham Public Health Center to schedule an appointment. There will also be a vaccine clinic from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Feb. 13 at the Dillingham High School.

Contact the author at isabelle@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.

Izzy Ross is the news director at KDLG, the NPR member station in Dillingham. She reports, edits, and hosts stories from around the Bristol Bay region, and collaborates with other radio stations across the state.