Credit Hope McKenney/KUCB
Alaska is leading the nation in vaccinations per capita. But compared to many other parts of the state, Unalaska s vaccine rollout seems to be moving slowly.
KUCB s Hope McKenney sat down with health officials from Iliuliuk Family and Health Services and the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association to discuss how the island s rollout is going and how recent changes in statewide eligibility guidelines could affect locals.
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Atka, Nikolski, St. George are almost fully vaccinated against COVID-19 February 11th |
Unalaska s neighboring communities of Atka and Nikoski as well as St. George in the Pribilof Islands are almost completely vaccinated against COVID-19 through the tribal vaccine rollout. We ve got enough vaccines to get everybody completed, said Lori Jackson, a nurse practitioner and medical director for the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, which operates the tribal community clinic in Unalaska.
The Oonalaska Wellness Center is acting as a vaccine hub to get doses out to those communities in the Aleutians and Pribilofs that APIA serves. Jackson said that s anywhere between 450 and 490 people across the four communities.
A little poke in the arm and you re done December 31st, 2020 |
The doses manufactured by drug company Moderna touched down around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 22, on a Ravn Alaska flight from Anchorage; they were rushed immediately to the island s clinic, and within a few hours, the first Unalaskans had received their shots.
A group of frontline medical providers and emergency responders stood 6 feet apart in the after hours area of the Iliuliuk Family and Health Services clinic. Some were waiting to be injected with the vaccine, while others were waiting to see if they had an allergic reaction before leaving the building.
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A group of frontline medical providers and emergency responders stood six feet apart in the after hours area of the Iliuliuk Family and Health Services clinic. Some were waiting to be injected with the vaccine, while others were waiting to see if they had an allergic reaction before leaving the building. The injection feels the same as any other vaccine, said Dr. Meg Sarnecki, one of 20 people to get the shot Tuesday afternoon, just hours after it arrived. A little poke in the arm and you re done. We watch you for 15 minutes, if you have any history of anaphylaxis or severe allergies, we ll be watching you for 30 minutes, and that s it, easy.