On Wednesday the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services reported 103 people identified with Covid 19 in the Mat-Su Borough. Most of those cases were in Palmer and Wasilla, with two in Big Lake, and one in a community with fewer than 1000 residents as counted in the 2010 census.
As of Monday the Mat-Su Borough had 378 cases per 100,000 over the preceding 7 days. That was an increase of over 70% from the prior week. The Mat-Su remains at a high level of community transmission.
While cases in the upper Valley north of Willow are not specified in the DHSS reports, several local residents have self-reported positive cases on social media. That includes the mother of a child at Talkeetna Elementary letting other parents know that her child tested positive last week. That case has not been reported on the school district’s website yet. Local schools continue to report zero cases in the last seven days and are in the Low Risk category.
The Delta variant has become the dominant variant causing Covid-19 in Alaska. A DHSS clinical update on Wednesday included a summary of a study on vaccine efficacy. The study showed that while the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines to prevent new cases in adults declines over time, their efficacy against hospitalization remained relatively stable with rates over 90%.
In the Matanuska-Susitna Borough as of Wednesday, 38.1% of eligible residents were fully vaccinated. In Alaska this year, 89% of all cases, 91% of all hospitalizations, and 89% of deaths were in people who were not fully vaccinated.
UPDATE: After this story was originally broadcast, Talkeetna Elementary Principal Becky Moren said in an email that “The student was determined to not be infectious while at school, therefore, district will not be reporting this case on the website. “
