Alaska sees summer COVID-19 wave of cases with FLiRT variants

Alaska is experiencing a summer COVID wave, fueled by the new so-called “FLiRT variants,” new Omicron variants of the COVID-19 virus. 

Joe McLaughlin, an epidemiologist with the state’s division of public health, said the wave is partly due to waning immunity. He said only about 18% of Alaskans got a COVID vaccine this past year. 

“Anytime you get these variants that are driving the wave, typically, what’s happening is they’ve had some sort of a mutation, at least one or a couple, that typically will give them the capability to evade prior immunity better than other strains that are circulating,” McLaughlin said. 

McLaughlin said vaccination and boosters can help with immunity and that growing evidence shows vaccination helps reduce the risk of long COVID. 

McLaughlin said it now may take two to three days for people with COVID-19 to test positive with at-home test kits. And anyone over 12 years old is eligible for prescription antivirals like Paxlovid, if their healthcare provider feels they’re at a higher risk of complications. Antivirals can reduce the strength of COVID symptoms and lower risks of hospitalization and death. 

McLaughlin said the summer COVID wave shows no signs of abating. 

He said recommendations for how people should isolate if they get COVID have changed. He said now people should stay home 24 hours after their symptoms, including a fever, resolve without fever-reducing medications like acetaminophen. 

“That’s the general recommendation,” McLaughlin said. “It’s not five days. It’s not 10 days. It’s really based on your symptoms.”

McLaughlin said people over 65 years old and people who are immunocompromised are eligible to get a second COVID booster vaccine this season. He said people should wait at least four months between boosters and Alaskans can expect a new COVID booster to be released in the next two to three months. 

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