Homer Unified Command delivered their regular report to Homer City Council on Monday night. KBBI's Kathleen Gustafson has this recap.
Transcript
Public Health Nurse Lorne Carroll relayed State Department of Health and Social Services data saying Alaska is at an intermediate threat level right now. Intermediate is defined as fewer than 10 positive cases of COVID-19 per hundred thousand people. In the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the current rate of positive cases is 6.67 per 100,000.
South Peninsula Hospital offers free, COVID-19 tests, daily. Over the last two weeks, they've administered 645 tests resulting in 22 positives, a positivity rate of 3.4 per hundred thousand.
So far, Unified Command has administered 7,253 total doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
South Peninsula Hospital spokesperson Derotha Ferraro told the council that the SPH COVID Care Clinic on Bartlett Street averages about 15 to 20 vaccinations a day. They offer Pfizer and Jansen vaccines seven days a week. On Mondays, Moderna vaccine is also available
According to DHSS data, 54% of all Alaskans that have had one dose of vaccine.
48% of Alaskans 16 and older are fully vaccinated.
State DHSS surveys show there are 30% of currently unvaccinated people say they do plan to get vaccinated. Ferraro said, to encourage those people to come out for the shot, the State provided a grant of $22,000 to offer incentives.
"Starting this Thursday out at the Spit event, anyone who receives a dose, there, or at any one of the five scheduled Spit pop ups, they will receive $40.00 is Homer Bucks. They're valid at over 50 locations in Homer and growing. You just spend them like cash," Ferraro said.
People who have already vaccinated aren't left out. According to Ferraro, there will be weekly Thursday lottery drawings at the Spit pop up clinic to give away 50 gift certificates of 100 and 500 dollars.
"...and anybody who already got vaccinated can put their name in for the drawing. Your name does not automatically go in. You have to head out to the Spit and put your name in the bucket, if you've been vaccinated."
The next pop up clinic is this Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on the Homer Spit at the Boathouse Pavilion. The weekly pop up clinics in June will happen every Thursday evening from 4:00p.m. to 7 p.m.
Also this Thursday, Alaska's top State Health and Social Services officials will visit Homer.
Nurse Lorne Carroll invited the Council and the public at Monday night's meeting.
" We'd like you folks to come down and say Hi. We're hosting a meet and greet with our Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink and Commissioner Crum - this Thursday 10:45 to noon at the Homer Public Health Center. So that invite goes to you folks but also the general public so we hope to see you down there," Nurse Carroll said.
The Homer Public Health Center is located on Bunnell Street at the entrance to Bishop's Beach.
If you can't make the pop up clinic this Thursday, SPH's Covid Care Clinic offers free vaccines and COVID tests seven days a week, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary but if you would like to reserve a time, alert the clinic that you are coming in for a COVID test or just want to speak to a COVID nurse, call (907) 235-0235.
For more information go to South Peninsula Hospital's website sphosp.org.
