Though thousands in Alaska are still testing positive for COVID-19 each day, the rate of new infections has begun to slow.
The state reported eight additional COVID-19 deaths Wednesday. Since March 2020, there have been 1,060 COVID-19 deaths among Alaska residents and 33 nonresident deaths.
By Wednesday, 61.7% of the state had completed their vaccination series while 25.6% had received a booster dose. Alaska’s omicron surge took off about two weeks behind other states, and state health officials have said what happens in other states where omicron arrived first is a good indicator of what would happen in Alaska a few weeks later.
Nationally, case counts have been decreasing precipitously — by about 24% over the past week — while hospitalizations have declined by about 14%, and deaths have increased by 11%.Annie Berman covers health care for the Anchorage Daily News. She's a fellow with Report for America, and is a graduate of the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
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