COVID cases drop to 218 in the region

By Peter Loewi
COVID-19 cases in the region, though still very high, appear to decrease. In the Lower 48, they seem to have come down from the Omicron peak, and Alaska has seen a large drop, as well. But, as Norton Sound Health Corporation’s Medical Director Dr. Mark Peterson reminded on Monday’s Tribal Leaders Call that fewer testing is done over the weekend, so reported case numbers are lower on Mondays. “It’s going to go up. Probably fewer than last week, but we don’t know,” he said.
As of the morning of Tuesday, February 15, there were 218 active cases in the region: 73 in Nome, 38 in Savoonga, 35 in Gambell, 20 in Koyuk, 13 in Teller, 13 in Unalakleet, 10 in Shishmaref, six in Stebbins, three in Elim, two in Shaktoolik, two in White Mountain and one in each Diomede, Golovin and St. Michael.
Also on the call was NSHC President/CEO Angie Gorn who gave an explanation about the two quarantine phone lines which are up and working. With a higher volume of cases since the start of the new year, the quarantine team has had additional staff rotate in to help with the volume of calls. There is now a dedicated landline, available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 907-443-4555. In the event that someone is not at the desk, the call will be redirected automatically. The other line can be reached at 907-434-0654, and can receive texts. “Hopefully that helps more people be able to get through and talk with somebody,” Gorn said
Starting this week, NSHC has also revived the COVID-19 Data Dashboard. The popular tool stopped being updated at the end of November, 2021, after the Delta variant wave appeared to be over. The Omicron variant had not labeled a variant of concern by the CDC at that point.
One of the difficulties in getting an accurate count for the total case numbers is the rising availability of the at-home test, because not everyone reports a positive test result. The City of Nome is giving away home test kits at the Rec Center, and they come with instructions for proper use. The instructions state “if either test in the kit gives a positive result, please self-isolate and call Norton Sound Health Corporation Nurse call line immediately.”
Alaska State Pharmacist Dr. Coleman Cutchins explained to the Nugget in a prior interview that the likelihood of false positives is very low, even with at home tests. If any properly administered test says you are positive, you should treat it as correct. The major difference between testing at home and at a local clinic or hospital is the likelihood of false negatives. At home tests are more likely to give a false negative than those tests administered by a health care provider. If a patient shows COVID symptoms but the at home test comes back negative, health officials urge to consult with a healthcare provider.

Weekly summary of cases
On Tuesday, Feb. 8, Norton Sound Health Corporation identified 115 new COVID-19 cases in the region. Of the new cases, there were 38 in Gambell, 21 in Nome, 12 in Shaktoolik, 11 in Savoonga, eight in Teller, seven in Unalakleet, five in Shishmaref, four in Elim, four in Koyuk, two in Golovin, and one in each Brevig, Stebbins, and Wales. This made for 312 active cases in the region: 89 in Nome, 65 in Gambell, 35 in Savoonga, 29 in Shaktoolik, 26 in Unalakleet, 19 in Shishmaref, 15 in Teller, 12 in Elim, eight in Koyuk, five in Stebbins, three in Golovin, two in Brevig, two in St. Michael, one in Wales, and one in White Mountain. 
On Wednesday, Feb. 9, NSHC identified 53 new COVID-19 cases in the region. Of the new cases, there were 14 in Nome, 14 in Shaktoolik, 11 in Gambell, four in Shishmaref, four in Teller, three in Koyuk, one in Golovin, one in Savoonga, and one in Stebbins. Active cases rose to 319 in the region: 94 in Nome, 65 in Gambell, 35 in Savoonga, 35 in Shaktoolik, 21 in Unalakleet, 20 in Shishmaref, 17 in Teller, 11 in Elim, nine in Koyuk, five in Stebbins, four in Golovin, two in St. Michael= and one in Wales.
On Thursday Feb. 10 NSHC identified 75 new COVID-19 cases in the region: 21 in Gambell, 13 in Savoonga, 13 in Nome, 11 in Koyuk, four in Teller, four in Unalakleet, three in Elim, two in Brevig, two in Shaktoolik, and two in Shishmaref. Active cases in the region rose to 382: 97 in Nome, 86 in Gambell, 68 in Savoonga, 32 in Shaktoolik, 20 in Shishmaref, 19 in Koyuk, 19 in Unalakleet, 16 in Teller, 14 in Elim, five in Stebbins, four in Golovin and two in Brevig.
Between Friday, Feb. 11 and Sunday, Feb. 13, NSHC identified 82 new COVID-19 cases in the region. Of the new cases, there were 25 in Nome, 16 in Savoonga, nine in Teller, seven in Shishmaref, five in Gambell, four in Shaktoolik, four in Stebbins, three in Koyuk, two in Unalakleet, two in White Mountain, and one in each Little Diomede, Brevig, Elim, St. Michael, and Wales. Cases are considered no longer active five days after the positive date, so over the weekend, active cases dropped to 203: 68 in Nome, 36 in Gambell, 35 in Savoonga, 16 in Koyuk, 14 in Teller, 13 in Shishmaref, six in Shaktoolik, four in Stebbins, three in Elim, three in Unalakleet, two in White Mountain, one in Brevig, one in Diomede and one in St. Michael.
On Monday, Feb. 14, NSHC identified 79 new COVID-19 cases in the region on Monday, Feb. 14. Of the new cases, there were 17 in Nome, 16 in Gambell, 14 in Unalakleet, 10 in Koyuk, nine in Savoonga, four in Teller, three in Diomede, three in Stebbins, two in Shishmaref and one in Golovin.

Vaccine news
On February 11, the Food and Drug Administration postponed a much-anticipated meeting which would have been the first step for getting an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine in young children. The Vaccines and Related Biological Produces Advisory Committee meeting, which was originally scheduled for February 15, was postponed “to allow more time to evaluate additional data” from the ongoing clinical trials, said FDA officials in a statement. The meeting will be rescheduled once the FDA receives “additional data on a third dose in this age group.”
Similarly, a paper in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on the effectiveness of boosters showed that “during both Delta- and Omicron- predominant periods, receipt of a third vaccine dose was highly effective at preventing COVID-19-associated emergency department and urgent care encounters and preventing COVID-19-associated hospitalizations.”
On February 15, the U.S. Senate narrowly approved President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Robert Califf. The FDA had been led by acting commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock, a career civil servant, since Biden’s inauguration. Califf, a cardiologist, was commissioner of the FDA during President Obama’s last year in office, when he was confirmed 89-4. This time, however, the vote was 50-46, showing how politicized health issues have become. Four Democrats and one Independent voted against the confirmation, citing ties to the pharmaceutical industry and six Republicans voted to confirm him. Alaska’s Senator Lisa Murkowski voted to confirm him.
In region, the true number of COVID cases is unknown because not everyone self-reports after a positive at-home test. The Nugget’s tally of positive case numbers is based on NSHC reporting and includes an “at least” modifier. Similarly, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services has changed the way it reports COVID deaths. The number of deaths in the Nome Census Area is now five, following the confirmation of two people, “a female resident of Nome Census Area in her 70s,” and “a male resident of the Nome Census Area in his 80s.” Both deaths occurred late last year and only have been reported by DHSS last week.
As of February 15, 2022 the United States has had 77,919,052 reported cases of COVID-19, and 922,473 COVID-related deaths.
Alaska had 226,276 reported cases, and 1,081 deaths. There are currently 112 people hospitalized in the state with seven patients being on ventilators.
The Nome, Norton Sound and Bering Strait region had at least 4,736 cases, 39 hospitalizations, and 5 deaths.