COVID-19 rates continue to rise in the state and Mat-Su

Both statewide and in the Mat-Su Borough, COVID-19 case rates continue to rise, and vaccination rates remain relatively flat.

According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, the rate of transmission for infected Alaskans is one-point-two.  Any rate above one means that those infected are likely to infect more than one other person.  As long as the rate of transmission remains above one, case numbers are likely to continue to rise.

Statewide, the case rate is thirty per 100,000 people as of the end of July.  That is nearly five times higher than the case rate at the end of June.  In the Mat-Su, the case rate is lower, at 19 per 100,000, but that number is still three times higher than last month’s rate.

The majority of new cases are the delta variant of the virus that causes COVID-19.  The delta variant has become the dominant strain of the virus in the United States in recent weeks.

Vaccination against COVID-19 is just over fifty-seven percent statewide among those eligible to receive a vaccine.  The Mat-Su is third-lowest in the state for vaccination rates, with just over forty percent of those twelve and over receiving the shots.

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services continues to acknowledge that a small number of vaccinated people have contracted COVID-19 in the state, but says that ninety-four percent of cases and hospitalizations as well as ninety-seven percent of deaths since January have been people who were not fully vaccinated against the disease.