All Alaska Industrial Hardware employees will be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19. The vaccine mandate is due to a policy implemented by AIH s parent company, Bering Straits Native Corporation, which purchased AIH in 2015.
BSNC Spokesperson Miriam Aarons explained that the organizationâs decision to require vaccines is grounded in culture and history.
âAs a company owned by Alaska Native shareholders and dedicated to improving the lives and preserving the culture and heritage of our people, BSNC is deeply concerned about the disproportionate toll Covid-19 is taking on Native communities, particularly our elders,â Aarons said. BSNC is headquartered in Nome, on the Seward Peninsula, a region that was devastated by the 1918 influenza pandemic. But unlike the 1918 pandemic, â . severe illness and death from Covid-19 can be prevented,â reads a statement on the BSNC website.