The Covid-19 virus transmission keeps slowing down in Fairbanks and statewide, with Alaska going into intermediate â or orange â statewide alert status, according to state health experts.
âThatâs a big milestone,â State Epidemiologist Joe McLaughlin said during Thursdayâs news conference. âWeâre very excited to see these case counts continue to decrease.â
The alert status is based on the average daily case rate over two weeks, with the intermediate level meaning that between 4.8 and 10 cases are transmitted per 100,000 people.
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The state of the virus
Yesterday alone, the state reported 78 cases, 15 of them in Fairbanks North Star Borough. Delta Junction reported three cases on Thursday, while Denali Borough reported three positive Covid cases during the past week.
âAnd the whole Earth,â chimed in his 6-year-old brother, Jared.
Saturday was Clean-Up Day, and the Alvarez family, including mom, Johanna, and sister, 4-year-old Lidia, decided to spruce up the neighborhood near their church.
They found cigars, napkins, cardboard, shopping bags and face masks. The childrenâs father, Ken, carried the telltale yellow Clean-Up Day bag.
With the blue sky, warm temperatures and passersby honking their horns in support, it made for happy work for dozens of people around Fairbanks. The annual collective action results in tons of litter removed from neighborhoods and roadsides in time for summer.
Last year, Clean-Up Day volunteers collected 10.5 tons of trash in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The goal this year is 17 tons or the equivalent to the weight of a school bus.
Fairbanks youth 12 to 15 years old can get a Pfizer vaccine this week to protect them from the Covid-19 virus, slow the community transmission and allow teenagers do the things they love, health officials said.
Following the emergency use authorization of the Pfizer vaccine for adolescents, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices approved and recommended it on Wednesday, finding the vaccine effective and safe for the 12 to 15 age group.
âThe side effect profile for the vaccine has been very similar to adults â which is a sore arm, fatigue, maybe fever and feeling a little ill, but those last just a couple of days,â said Dr. Michelle Nace, a pediatrician at Tanana Valley Clinic and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. âThe efficacy has been even better than for adults â it was 100% effective in the group where they did the study, which is very encouraging.â
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