Delta variant cases cause statewide hospital constraints

Gov. Mike Dunleavy called a press conference on Thursday to alert the Alaska public that hospital capacity has become constrained with the surge in COVID-19 cases related to the delta variant. Dunleavy noted that the state would make adjustments if necessary, but he and other public health officials asked residents to get vaccinated.

“Seriously consider getting a vaccine. I strongly urge you to talk to your physician, talk to a trusted health care provider that you know or that your friend or other family members know and have a conversation with them. What we’re finding is that the vast majority of people going to the hospital, the vast majority of the people going to the hospital don’t have a vaccine,” said Dunleavy. “The hospital capacity has become very, very constrained here in the state of Alaska as it has in many other states and across the world.”

There are currently 127 people hospitalized across Alaska due to COVID-19 with 26 people on ventilators. Of those hospitalized in Alaska, 13.6 percent are hospitalized due to COVID-19. There were 701 resident cases announced on Thursday with 103 of those in the Mat-Su Valley.

“If people begin to act quickly in terms of their decision on vaccinations, their decision on just changing the way that their lifestyle is so they’re safer, we probably will see a change in the numbers and a change in the hospitalizations,” said Dunleavy. “The major difference between now and last year is we didn’t have a vaccine. We had no vaccine, and again although the vaccines aren’t 100 percent foolproof, there’s no doubt that they are a game changer and again I strongly urge folks to get a vaccination, talk to their doctor first, but seriously consider doing that because it’s the tool that we have at this time that really makes an impact.”

Director of Public Health Heidi Hedberg detailed the effective mitigation strategies that are made even more crucial by the increased r naught value of the delta variant. Hedberg asked Alaskans to keep their circles small, wear masks indoors and reported that weekly meetings with the hospital association had been restarted.

“Really what we are seeing in this surge with cases and definitely in our hospitals is different and i really want to underscore what the Governor had mentioned, the delta variant is here in Alaska. The transmission rate with the delta variant is, you know, if one person has that delta variant they can transmit it to five to eight people and that is causing that transmission to really increase,” said Hedberg. “We are seeing that we have a fatigued workforce in the hospitals and we are also seeing that states just like Alaska with the increase in cases and the increase in hospitalization. They are using a lot more resources and so we’re starting to see that there are constraints in the supply chain.”

Hedberg said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was working with the General Hospital Association to bring licensed healthcare providers to Alaska to augment staffing shortages. Hedberg also said that the Department of Health and Social Services would be expediting licensing processes for background checks. Hedberg also said that those who had tested positive should discuss monoclonal antibodies treatment if they are experiencing symptoms, and listed (907)646-3322 as the hotline for questions. Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer thanked hospital workers and public health employees in her opening comments, and said that last week had seen a 24 percent increase in vaccinations from the week prior.

“It’s just moving really quickly and we’re seeing higher viral loads and why we’re all needing to take extra measures. I think the key thing here as the hospitals are limited and we all have to work together and we’re really not powerless in this. Together we determine where this pandemic goes and how much we can care for each other and how much Alaskans we can help protect. If you haven’t been vaccinated, consider getting vaccinated,” said Zink.

Dunleavy took questions from the press and stopped short of saying he would mandate vaccinations in an exchange with a reporter.

“This isn’t North Korea. You don’t dictate to people how they live their lives,” said Dunleavy. “This idea that you’re going to force people to undergo a medical procedure when we just talked about having a 24 percent increase in vaccinations. People aren’t stupid, they aren’t. They’re making a decision, this is true, but they’re making a decision I hope in consultation with their doctors, so I don’t know when you say forceful, make an announcement that we’re going to force people to get a vaccination. No, that’s not going to happen.”