The first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have officially arrived in Nome. The vaccine touched down at approximately 1:30pm today on the Alaska Airlines flight from Anchorage.
According to Norton Sound Health Corporation (NSHC) spokesperson Sarah Richards, this first shipment included 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Quyanna Care Center (QCC) residents and staff will be the first to receive the vaccine, along with frontline medical workers.
Although there was no formal welcoming committee awaiting the vaccine’s arrival, two pilots and two members of the airport staff helped unload the vaccine from the airplane and prepare it for the next leg of its journey to the Norton Sound Regional Hospital.
The first Elder is expected to receive their vaccine at QCC at around 6pm tonight.
Image at top: Vaccine Arriving in Nome, Photo by Sophia DeSalvo (December 2020)
