As COVID-19 cases continue to rise statewide and particularly in the Mat-Su Valley, the first 35,100 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for the coronavirus arrived in Alaska Monday and will be distributed throughout the state for the following two days. As vaccines arrived in Alaska Sunday night for distribution on Monday, Alaska now has had 40,160 total positive cases of COVID-19 to date. There were 420 new cases announced on Monday, 18 of those from the Mat-Su Valley.
âThe COVID-19 vaccine is going to help Alaskans put the worst behind us,â said Governor Mike Dunleavy. â We will begin the process of finally getting the upper hand of this pandemic and getting our lives back to normal.â
PALMER â On Tuesday at a joint meeting between the Mat-Su Borough School District School Board and Mat-Su Borough Assembly, MSBSD Superintendent Dr. Randy Trani detailed the efforts in mitigation of COVID-19 implemented in the schools. Despite the continued rise of COVID-19 cases around the Mat-Su Valley, data presented by Trani showed the steep decline of positive cases in schools recently.
âThe schools have a lower infectious rate than the communities in which they reside and in some places itâs dramatic, like Palmer itâs less than half of the infectious rate in the community,â said Trani. âThe schools may actually be a mitigating factor for the spread of the coronavirus. Being open may actually slow down the coronavirus in the community.â