March 11, 2021
Contact: Sarah Richards, Public Relations Specialist
Phone: 907-443-4591
Nome, Alaska – On March 11, one case of COVID-19 was confirmed in a Nome resident.
The individual is an NSHC employee, but there was no patient exposure. The case is considered to be community spread. NSHC will notify all close contacts of the individual and instruct them to follow correct safety precautions.
NSHC encourages patients who have not yet been vaccinated to do so for the safety of themselves, their families, and their community. In regional villages, anyone 16 or older can contact their local clinic to be placed on a vaccination wait list if they have not already been vaccinated against COVID-19.
One new option in the region is the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which has been approved for adults 18 and older for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This vaccine does not require a booster, and you will be considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving just one dose. To get on the waitlist for this vaccine in Nome, please fill out this form https://tinyurl.com/vaccinewaitlist or call 907-443-4567. If you are in a village, specifically request to be placed on the waitlist for this particular vaccine at your local clinic.
The mRNA vaccines that NSHC currently has on hand – the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines – are 95% effective against infection and 100% effective against death from the virus. Two weeks after receiving your second dose, you will be considered fully vaccinated. The vaccines are available at the NSHC Pharmacy in Nome. You can walk-in Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. While there is no appointment necessary during these hours, patients who have scheduled an appointment will take preference over walk-in patients. NSHC cannot accommodate walk-ins during the lunch hour, after 3 p.m., or on the weekend. For priority vaccination or to be vaccinated outside of these hours, please schedule an appointment at picktime.com/NSHC or call the Patient Advocate during business hours for help at 443-4567.
If you have questions or concerns about the vaccine, please reach out to NSHC’s medical staff for answers by emailing or by calling into NSHC’s daily call every Monday-Thursday at 11 a.m. at 1-800-315-6338; access code 03286#.
On March 8, the CDC shared new guidelines for fully vaccinated people. The CDC says people are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 two weeks after they receive their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or two weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine, like the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The following recommendations apply to non-healthcare settings.
Fully vaccinated people can:
- Visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
- Visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing
- Refrain from quarantine and testing following a known exposure if asymptomatic
For now, fully vaccinated people should continue to:
- Take precautions in public like wearing a well-fitted mask and physical distancing
- Wear masks, practice physical distancing, and adhere to other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease
- Wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice other prevention measures when visiting with unvaccinated people from multiple households
- Avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings
- Get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
- Follow guidance issued by individual employers
- Follow CDC and health department travel requirements and recommendations