In this Dec. 24 photo, Arsenio “Pastor” Credo receives the Moderna coronavirus vaccine from nurse Courtney Taber at the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium’s Ethel Lund Medical Center. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

In this Dec. 24 photo, Arsenio “Pastor” Credo receives the Moderna coronavirus vaccine from nurse Courtney Taber at the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium’s Ethel Lund Medical Center. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Alaskans over 65 eligible for vaccinations earlier than first expected

Appointments can be made starting Wednesday.

Alaskans 65 and older are eligible to begin receiving COVID-19 vaccinations starting next week, the state announced on Monday.

Beginning at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 6, the Alaska COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force is opening up appointment scheduling and vaccination clinics for people 65 and older, the Department of Health and Social Services said in a news release.

Appointments start on Monday, Jan. 11.

[Officials say more vaccinations are on the way]

Appointments can be made online at http://covidvax.alaska.gov/.

“All clinics who have received COVID-19 vaccine should continue to vaccinate the remaining health care workers from Phase 1a who wish to be vaccinated, but we are also excited to open up appointments for Alaskans who are 65 years of age or older,” said Dr. Anne Zink., Alaska’s chief medical officer, in a news release.

Originally, vaccinations for people 65 and older were slated for late January, but the timeline was changed after health officials assessed the amount of vaccine yet to be administered, according to DHSS. A July 2019 population estimate put the number of Alaskans older than 65 at 91,278, according to Department of Labor and Workforce Development data.

Read the full news release below:

• Contact Ben Hohenstatt at (907)308-4895 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Dec. 15

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Lightering boats return to their ships in Eastern Channel in Sitka on June 7, 2022. (James Poulson/Sitka Sentinel)
Sitka OKs another cruise ship petition for signature drive

Group seeks 300K annual and 4,500 daily visitor limits, and one or more days with no large ships.

The Wrangell shoreline with about two dozen buildings visible, including a Russian Orthodox church, before the U.S. Army bombardment in 1869. (Alaska State Library, U.S. Army Infantry Brigade photo collection)
Army will issue January apology for 1869 bombardment of Wrangell

Ceremony will be the third by military to Southeast Alaska communities in recent months.

Juneau Board of Education members vote during an online meeting Tuesday to extend a free student breakfast program during the second half of the school year. (Screenshot from Juneau Board of Education meeting on Zoom)
Extending free student breakfast program until end of school year OK’d by school board

Officials express concern about continuing program in future years without community funding.

Juneau City Manager Katie Koester (left) and Mayor Beth Weldon (right) meet with residents affected by glacial outburst flooding during a break in a Juneau Assembly meeting Monday night at City Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Juneau’s mayor gets an award, city manager gets a raise

Beth Weldon gets lifetime Alaska Municipal League honor; Katie Koester gets bonus, retroactive pay hike.

Dozens of residents pack into a Juneau Assembly meeting at City Hall on Monday night, where a proposal that would require property owners in flood-vulnerable areas to pay thousands of dollars apiece for the installation of protective flood barriers was discussed. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Assembly OKs lowering flood barrier payment for property owners to about $6,300 rather than $8,000

Amended ordinance makes city pay higher end of 60/40 split, rather than even share.

A family ice skates and perfects their hockey prowess on Mendenhall Lake, below Mendenhall Glacier, outside of Juneau, Alaska, Nov. 24, 2024. The state’s capital, a popular cruise port in summer, becomes a bargain-seeker’s base for skiing, skating, hiking and glacier-gazing in the winter off-season. (Christopher S. Miller/The New York Times)
NY Times: Juneau becomes a deal-seeker’s base for skiing, skating, hiking and glacier-gazing in winter

Newspaper’s “Frugal Traveler” columnist writes about winter side of summer cruise destination.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy (left) talks with U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and local leaders during an Aug. 7 visit to a Mendenhall Valley neighborhood hit by record flooding. (Photo provided by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office)
Dunleavy to Trump: Give us Mendenhall Lake; nix feds’ control of statewide land, wildlife, tribal issues

Governor asks president-elect for Alaska-specific executive order on dozens of policy actions.

Most Read