Fifteen new cases of the novel coronavirus were reported in Cordova from July 26-27, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services announced. Of those cases, all 15 were residents.
A cumulative total of 249 coronavirus cases have been reported in Cordova, of which 227 have been Alaska residents and 22 have been non-residents, according to DHSS data. A cumulative total of four people who tested positive for the virus have been hospitalized in Cordova. A total of one person who tested positive for the virus has died in Cordova.
Fifty-two percent of people in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area have received at least one dose of novel coronavirus vaccine, according to DHSS data. Sixty-two percent of people age 12 and over in the census area have received at least one dose of vaccine.
Coronavirus vaccination is currently not publicly available to children under 12. However, pharmaceutical company Moderna is testing its vaccine on children under 12 and is in talks with the Food and Drug Administration to enroll more study participants, according to Associated Press reports. Pfizer is also testing its own vaccine in up to 4,500 children in the U.S. and Europe.
The city of Cordova stopped publishing local COVID-19 vaccination numbers to its online dashboard July 20. The change is intended to be permanent, said city public relations manager Curtis Fincher. The change was made after Cordova Community Medical Center staff grew concerned that the local figures being published could be misleading because it is difficult to determine how many patients are actually year-round residents of Cordova, City Manager Helen Howarth said.
