The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation is vaccinating people against COVID-19 across the region. The health corporation, along with state health experts, recently held a virtual Q&A to answer questions from essential workers who are eligible for the early phase of the vaccines. The questions were submitted by essential workers, and here is a portion of that information session. Panelists included YKHC Chief of Staff Dr. Ellen Hodges, YKHC Infection Control Director Dr. Elizabeth Bates, Alaska Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink, and Co-Lead of the Alaska Vaccine Task Force Tessa Walker Linderman. The event was recorded on Dec. 22, and was moderated by YKHC Vice President of Communications Tiffany Zulkosky, who asks the questions.
Credit Loren Holmes / ADN
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation is vaccinating people against COVID-19 across the region. The health corporation, along with state health experts, held a virtual Q&A on Dec. 22 to answer questions from people who are eligible for the early phase of the vaccines, including Elders and essential workers.
Panelists:
YKHC Chief of Staff Dr. Ellen Hodges
YKHC Infection Control Director Dr. Elizabeth Bates
Alaska Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink
Co-Lead of the Alaska Vaccine Task Force Tessa Walker Linderman.
The event was moderated by YKHC Vice President of Communications Tiffany Zulkosky, who asks the questions. The session was held over Zoom and Facebook, and broadcast live on KYUK 640 AM. The full recording is available to listen to in three parts.
Credit Loren Holmes / ADN
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation has nearly completed the first phase of COVID-19 vaccinations. That included frontline health care workers and residents and staff of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Elder’s home in Bethel. YKHC will now begin to vaccinate Elders ages 65 and older, and frontline essential workers.
Bethel Elders can call YKHC’s COVID-19 hotline at 907-543-6949 to schedule a vaccination appointment. The health corporation will reach out to village-based Elders directly.
Frontline essential workers are defined by YKHC as individuals working in the following roles:
Corrections officers
Grocery/convenience stores
In the Y-K Delta, frontline health workers and the residents and staff at the Yukon-Kuskokwim Elder’s home were the first to receive COVID-19 vaccines. This involved chartering planes to fly doses to villages, and vaccinating health aides on vilage runways. YKHC Chief of Staff Dr. Ellen Hodges said that phase 1a of the vaccinations would be complete by Dec. 23.
“We just received this vaccine six days ago, and we have been able to vaccinate over 180 healthcare providers in 37 different villages. And it s just to me, when I think about this, is an astonishing accomplishment,” Hodges said.
With both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines coming to market in under a year, some may be concerned about safety. Dr. Larry Corey, Co-Director of the Fred Hutchinson COVID-19 Prevention Network, said that government funding helped develop and test the vaccines in such a short period of time, but he said that no corners were cut in the approval process.
YKHC now has enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for between 4,000 and 5,000 people. YKHC Chief of Staff Dr. Ellen Hodges reported that 1,300 doses of the Moderna vaccine arrived in Bethel on Dec. 21. She also said that YKHC doctors, like elsewhere, are discovering an extra sixth dose in vials of the Pfizer vaccine that were supposed to hold just five doses. That means YKHC received more than 3,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Zink said that Alaska can expect allocations of vaccines monthly. She did not know how many doses would be arriving in January. Hodges said that they would reserve the Moderna vaccine for Elders in villages.