With the holiday season well underway, local health officials are encouraging residents to incorporate some precautions for seasonal respiratory viruses.
Bartlett Regional Hospital spokesperson Erin Hardin said that by taking care of individual health needs, people can help take care of the community’s health as well.
“It’s a good reminder to continue to take reasonable precautions, stay home when you’re feeling sick and keep up to date on your vaccines,” she said. “That really helps keep both the health care system and ourselves as healthy as possible.”
Contagious viruses like COVID-19, the flu and respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, continue to hit households in Alaska this holiday season. This week, 21 people were admitted to hospitals across the state with confirmed cases of COVID-19. That’s according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s nationwide tracker.
The state’s weekly respiratory virus bulletin updated on Dec. 16 cited just over 60 cases of RSV, 70 cases of flu and 235 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases across Alaska.
Hardin said Wednesday that the Juneau hospital has seen similar trends in seasonal illness.
“We had an early rise of respiratory illnesses, particularly flu in the community of Juneau, that really mirrored what we kind of saw happening at the statewide level,” she said. “But fortunately, that didn’t translate to higher admissions here at the hospital.”
Hardin said admission numbers have continued to remain low going into the holiday season, though she said they expect a minor uptick as the new year approaches.
Residents hoping to test for COVID-19 before gatherings should be aware of changes to where you can find tests locally. The Juneau municipality stopped offering free tests to the public at libraries and city hall midway through this past summer, according to George Schaaf, who was the logistics section chief for the city’s emergency operations center throughout the pandemic.
Schaaf said the city’s supply of free tests ran out shortly after the federal COVID-19 emergency officially ended in May.
“That’s why we no longer have access to purchase them and be reimbursed from the federal government for the purchase of the test kits,” he said.
Schaaf said some people still call the city even now to ask if free tests are available. He tells them to purchase kits at local pharmacies or retail stores in Juneau that carry them.
There is still a way to get tests for free, but it might take a bit longer than a walk or drive to the local pharmacy. This fall the federal government revived its program to provide free tests to residents who order them through the US Postal Service. People in Alaska can utilize that program now, though it’s not clear how long it will last. Each household order comes with four at-home tests.
For residents looking for vaccines, Juneau Public Health Center’s nurse manager Alison Gottschlich said most local pharmacies and health care providers have the most recent COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccines.
She encouraged residents to call ahead of time to make sure the vaccines are available or call the Juneau Public Health Center with any questions about availability or insurance coverage at different locations around Juneau.