SEARHC is now administering COVID-19 booster shots for Chilkat Valley residents 18 or older who received their second shot of the Pfizer vaccine more than six months ago.

Fifty-six people signed up for boosters this week at the Haines Health Center, clinic administrator Stephanie Pattison said.

The shots are available at the Haines clinic by sign-up on Tuesdays and Thursdays, along with flu shots and first and second COVID-19 vaccinations.

SEARHC made third doses of the Pfizer vaccine available following the FDA’s emergency use approval of it and the CDC’s recommendation that people over the age of 65 and adults deemed at high risk of infection receive a vaccine booster.

The FDA has yet to make a decision on booster shots for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

A recent large-scale study of the Pfizer vaccine showed that it was about 90% effective at preventing hospitalization for six months, although the vaccine’s effectiveness against infection declined from 88% in the first month to 47% after five months.

As of Tuesday, there were seven active COVID-19 cases in the Haines Borough. The borough’s recorded case count has steadily declined over the last two weeks. Community transmission still appears present.

The state's per-capita case rate this week remained the nation's highest. Alaska's outbreak has stressed the state's health care system, forcing doctors to make life-or-death decisions about how to ration care.

According to Alaska’s data dashboard, there have been two hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the Haines Borough. One resident with severe symptoms was medevaced to Juneau by the U.S. Coast Guard in the middle of the night two weeks ago.