The Sleeves Up for Summer COVID-19 vaccination campaign is off and running statewide, with a goal of increasing the number of people vaccinated by 25% in May.
The month-long initiative will include statewide events to increase the number of residents over 16 years of age who are fully vaccinated.
The message is being delivered via several television advertisements on Alaska stations, and, beginning June 1, the state will start offering COVID-19 shots to visitors coming through airports in Anchorage, Fairbanks Juneau and Ketchikan.
Campaign details are online at cdv.tiny.us/sleevesup. Applications for those who want to volunteer are at cdv.tiny.us/apply.
Statewide efforts to date have paid off with 50% of residents over the age of 16 having received at least their first vaccine dose.
As of Tuesday, May 4, 68,518 people have been infected with COVID-19 in Alaska, including 65,762 residents and 2,756 nonresidents, of whom 342 residents and six nonresidents have succumbed to the virus. One thousand and 48 people have been hospitalized.
As of May 4, 55 people diagnosed with COVID-19 have been hospitalized, along with eight others considered under investigation for the virus. Eleven of those patients were on ventilators.
A total of 2,121,768 COVID-19 tests have been conducted to date, including 28,880 in the seven days previous to May 4.
A total of 271 new cases and one death were reported from April 30 through May 2, and 102 more on May 4. The individual who died was a Wasilla man in his 50s.
The new cases on May 3 included
- Anchorage, 70
- Fairbanks, 64
- Wasilla, 29
- North Pole, 21
- Juneau, 12
- Palmer, 11
- Ketchikan, 8
- Eagle River 6
- Kenai, 5
- Kodiak, 4
- Mat-Su Borough, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, 3
- Anchor Point, Big Lake, Chugiak Delta Junction Northwest Arctic Borough, Sutton-Alpine, Willow, 2
- Copper River Census Area, Homer, Houston, Kotzebue, Kusilvak Census Area North Slope Borough, Seward, Sitka, Soldotna, Sterling, Valdez, Wrangell, Yakuta, Hoonah-Angoon and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, 1
Another 102 cases were confirmed on May 4, including
- Anchorage, Fairbanks, 18
- Wasilla, 15
- North Pole, 7
- Palmer, 6
- Fairbanks North star Borough, 4
- Kenai, Ketchikan, Nome, 3
- Juneau, 2
- Bethell Census Area, Big Lake, Delta Junction, Houston, Kusilvak Census Area Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Salcha, Seward, Sitka, Soldotna, Sutton-Alpine, Valdez, Willow, Wrangell and Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, 1
