COVID cases remain high at 115 in region

By Julia Lerner
As Nomeites prepare for a second Thanksgiving season during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, active case counts remain high in the community and throughout the region.
Norton Sound Health Corporation has identified more than 80 cases in the last week, including 58 in Nome.
As of Tuesday, Nov. 23, there are 115 active cases in the region, including 89 in Nome, 10 in Shishmaref, seven in Unalakleet, five in Savoonga and four in Gambell.  
On Tuesday, November 16, NSHC identified 23 cases in Nome, five in Shishmaref, two in Savoonga and one in Brevig Mission. Of the new cases in Nome, 17 were close contacts and six were community spread. In Shishmaref, all five of the cases were close contacts with previous positives. Both cases in Savoonga were community spread, and the sole case in Brevig was a close contact.
The following day, 28 individuals tested positive for COVID-19, including 20 in Nome, five in Unalakleet, and three in Savoonga. Fourteen of the Nome cases were close contacts, four were community spread and two were travel related. Two of the Nome cases were also identified in NSHC employees, though the employees had no contact with patients. Of the five cases in Unalakleet, two were close contacts, two were community spread, and one was travel related. All three Savoonga cases were community spread.
On Thursday, November 18, NSHC identified six new cases. Four of the cases were found in Nome, where two cases were community spread and two were close contacts. One individual tested positive in Unalakleet in a close-contact case, and one individual tested positive in Shishmaref in a close-contact case.
Over the weekend, 17 individuals tested positive for COVID-19, including 11 in Nome, four in Shishmaref, one in Unalakleet and one in Gambell. Of the new cases in Nome, nine were close contacts and the remaining were community spread. All of the cases identified in Shishmaref, Unalakleet and Gambell were close contact cases.
On Monday, 19 cases were identified, with 18 in Nome and one in Gambell. In Nome, eight were close contacts to previously identified cases, nine were community spread cases, and one was a travel-related case. In Gambell, the case was travel-related.
Norton Sound’s medical director Dr. Mark Peterson says the community is much safer to celebrate the upcoming holidays this year than they were last year. “A lot more people are going to be immune in our region, either from infection or from vaccination,” he said during Monday’s weekly COVID-19 conference call. “That should lead to fewer cases.”
As COVID-19 cases drop slowly around the state, Peterson is hopeful the effects of the pandemic will slow in the Nome, Norton Sound, and Bering Strait region, too.
“We don’t know what Thanksgiving is going to bring,” he said.  “We don’t know what winter is going to bring. We don’t know if winter bringing everybody indoors is going to cause more COVID. We just don’t know. … I feel like things are pointing in the right direction and we think that things should stay positive, so time will tell.”
More than 500 children between the ages of 5 and 11 in the region have received their first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine since the vaccination became available to children in early November.
“That’s a relief, to get 512 children vaccinated with the first dose,” Peterson said. “The goal is 100 percent, but I think if we can get as close to 100 percent as possible, that’s a realistic goal. We are on our way and continue to push, and each community clinic knows what their goal is.”
Childhood vaccines are currently available in all villages across the region except for Koyuk, though Peterson says that should change before the end of the week.
Across the region, other villages continue to inoculate their younger populations: Brevig Mission has administered 30 doses; Elim has administered 36; Gambell has administered 36; Golovin has administered 11; Little Diomede has administered 4; St. Michael has administered 28; Savoonga has administered 49; Shaktoolik has administered 11; Shishmaref has administered 27; Stebbins has administered 30; Teller has administered 17; Unalakleet has administered 43; Wales has administered 16; White Mountain has administered 30; and Nome has administered 144.
Though Nome has administered significantly more vaccinations than other communities in the region, only 26 percent of the childhood population has been vaccinated. Peterson hopes that number rises in the coming weeks.
Peterson is encouraging residents to get vaccinated if they’re eligible, and to get the booster vaccine.
“If you’re 18 and up, you can get the booster,” he said. “. If you’re 65 and older, you definitely need to get a booster. In fact, if you’re 50 and older, you need to focus on getting your booster because 50 and older is a high-risk population.”
Residents who test positive for COVID-19 in the future may be eligible for COVID-19 treatments, including several pill regiments, Peterson said. Two separate companies, Merck and Pfizer, are in the process of getting COVID-19 treatment pills approved for use by the FDA. They’re likely to be approved by the end of the year and could make a significant difference for individuals fighting COVID-19.
“If you get COVID, [the pills] lessen the intensity of COVID and reduces the chance for hospitalizations,” Peterson said. “We hope both will be approved soon. They could be a game changer for COVID.”
Despite their effectiveness, they may not be so accessible in the region due to high costs.
The pill regimens are expected to cost between $300 and $500, though early reports put the Merck treatment at over $700.
“They are expensive,” Peterson said. “But that’s much less expensive than a hospital stay and much less expensive than other treatments.”
Across Alaska, there have been a total of 148,825 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, including 2,279 in the last week. In the state, there have been 3,230 hospitalizations, with 112 currently hospitalized and 13 on ventilators. Around the state, 23 ICU beds remain available. In Alaska, 862 people have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March, 2020.
In Nome, Norton Sound, and the Bering Strait region, there have been 1,994 cases of COVID-19, 21 hospitalizations and two deaths.