JUNEAU (AP) – The state of Alaska has begun offering free COVID-19 vaccines at airports, a move that was planned a month ago for the start of the summer travel season as an additional enticement for visitors to come to Alaska.
The state health department said vaccine eligibility was expanded June 1 to include anyone in Alaska who is at least 12 years old, including visitors from other states or countries.
In addition to airport vaccination sites in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, the state has opened up all its other sites around the state for visitors to get a shot while in Alaska.
“We’ve already received calls from tourists who want to be vaccinated here, and some who plan to stay three to four weeks to receive their second vaccine,” Adam Crum, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, said in a prepared statement June 1.
At the airports, the vaccination stations are set up for public access, outside the areas secured by the federal Transportation Security Administration.
Those interested can pre-register online through the Alaska Safe Travels app, or they just show up at the vaccination stations.
Plans call for the Anchorage airport to have available all three vaccines authorized for emergency use in the U.S., including the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the state health department said.
The department also said testing services will be available at the three airports and at airports in Ketchikan, Sitka, Petersburg, Cordova, Gustavus, Wrangell and Yakutat.
Tari O’Connor, with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, said 70 people stopped by for their COVID-19 shots at the Anchorage airport in the first two days of the program. More than half were international travelers, she told Anchorage TV station KTUU.
Reader Comments(0)