Juneau residents 65 and older will be able to sign up early for an upcoming COVID-19 vaccine clinic.
To make sure older adults have access to an appointment at a March 12-13 clinic, the city will allow them to sign up for an appointment by calling 586-6000 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Sign-ups for past clinics have been more online-oriented and opened at noon.
“We just want to make sure we’re taking care of our more vulnerable population,” said Mila Cosgrove, City and Borough of Juneau’s deputy city manager and incident commander of the City and Borough of Juneau Emergency Operations Center.
The clinic is organized by Bartlett Regional Hospital, Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, Juneau Public Health Center, SEARHC, and City and Borough of Juneau.
The majority of people 65 and older in the capital city have already received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to state figures, and city officials encourage residents to tell the older adults in their lives about the vaccine clinics. People younger than 65 can call on Wednesday to register on behalf of someone 65 or older.
[Governor quarantines following close contact]
So far, over 77% of Juneau residents 65 and older have received at least one dose of vaccine, according to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services data.
According to state data: 900 people in Juneau in their 60s have been vaccinated, 1,600 people in their 70s have been vaccinated and 527 people in their 80s have been vaccinated. As of Monday afternoon, 7,347 people in Juneau had received at least one dose of vaccine, and 4,779 people had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
That works out to be over 28% of Juneau’s 16 and older population.
“It’s amazing, it is so gratifying to see the numbers playing out,” Cosgrove said.
She said the number of fully vaccinated older adults is expected to climb significantly during a second-dose clinic on March 4 and 5. However, Cosgrove said the city is committed to making sure everyone who wants to be vaccinated is able to be vaccinated, and city officials encouraged people to reach out to the older adults in their life to make sure they are aware of the vaccine clinic.
For people who have not yet been vaccinated and are not 65 and older, sign-ups for an appointment open at noon on Thursday, Feb. 25, online at juneau.org/vaccine. For people who are younger than 65, but unsure if they are eligible to receive a vaccine, there is an eligibility quiz available online at https://hipaa.jotform.com/210366892090154. People 50 and older with certain high-risk conditions or who must work within 6 feet of others as an essential worker; many educators, people living in congregate settings; long-term care facility staff and residents; frontline health care workers; and emergency medical services and firefighting personnel are currently eligible, according to the state.
“We would really like to see as many people as possible get vaccinated,” Cosgrove said. “I think people should have confidence and trust in the process.”
She said recent winter weather in the Lower 48 that has delayed vaccines elsewhere is not expected to hinder that effort in Juneau.
“We don’t have any reason to believe our supply chain has been affected,” Cosgrove said.
• Contact Ben Hohenstatt at (907)308-4895 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt.
