Dave Nicolai got an unexpected phone call Wednesday morning. The 36-year-old engineer was suddenly eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination through his health care provider, Southcentral Foundation. As the state’s complex rollout moves slowly through health workers and senior Alaskans, with some stumbles along the way, vaccine for relatively healthy younger people like Nicolai who aren’t essential workers could be weeks or months off depending on the pace of federal supplies.
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] But Nicolai is served by the state’s tribal health system, which is giving out vaccinations at a much faster pace. Tribal authorities are already immunizing everyone from elders to teens in some villages, getting precious vials to far-flung places by plane, boat and snowmachine.
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Redmond, Washington, U.S.A.-based UniSea has partially locked down its seafood processing facility in Unalaska, Alaska, after seven of its employees tested positive for COVID-19.
The company, which is owned by Nippon Suisan Kaisha (Nissui), is in the process of testing most of the staff at the facility and conducting contract tracing to determine the full scale of the outbreak, according to KUCB.
UniSea President and CEO Tom Enlow said some of the employees who tested positive attended a small gathering to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Some of the cases may also be a result of wider transmission of COVID-19 in the community of Unalaska, Enlow said.
Trump Administration Auctions Arctic National Wildlife Refuge To Oil Drillers
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After a three-year push, the Trump administration has opened up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil leases. It s a scramble to lock in drilling before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
Transcript
AILSA CHANG, HOST: And now a story you may have missed during last week s storming of the U.S. Capitol. The Trump administration achieved one of its biggest environmental reversals. It auctioned off leases to drill oil in Alaska s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It s one of the country s most pristine places, home to migrating caribou, birds and polar bears. But the sale was a bust. Tegan Hanlon of Alaska s energy desk joins us now to explain.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST: So this is the question. Can Donald Trump hang on for the final 11 days of his presidency until Joe Biden is sworn in?
I m Lulu Garcia-Navarro.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Joe Biden didn t call for a second impeachment, but he did say this about the outgoing president.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOE BIDEN: He s exceeded even my worst notions about him. He s been embarrassment to the country.
SIMON: Meanwhile, hundreds of law enforcement officials are trying to identify and arrest the rioters who laid siege to the U.S. Capitol this week.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: And with COVID-19 numbers surging, the president-elect wants to accelerate the shipment of vaccine doses.