Alaska’s experience with the delta wave that emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic is compared to a “superstorm” in a new study comparing pandemic patterns in Arctic regions.
The study, conducted through a University of Northern Iowa think tank that focuses on COVID-19 in the Arctic, was published Aug. 17 in the International Journal of Circumpolar Health.
Alaska’s trend with the delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is one of the emerging rates of cases and deaths as of the July 2021 expiration, which followed the state’s last wave that peaked at the 2020 expiration. Although the Alaska Delta wave peaked in September 2021, the rate of new instances remained at the highest level for another two months.
This is different from what has been called a “tsunami” trend in Greenland, the Faroe Islands, northern Norway, northern Finland and northern Canada. The pandemic has been slow to succeed in many of those regions and the number of cases is low until 2020. This made the delta variant of the disease the first primary wave of COVID-19 to affect those regions, according to the study.
In the northern part of Sweden, a country that has been noted for its relative lack of restrictions at the beginning of the pandemic, the trend was a “sustained wave,” according to the study’s classification. There was a stable expansion in cases and a very high mortality rate in 2020, but Sweden tightened its regulations in early 2021, and the delta wave that followed in the fall of that year, prolonged, was lower compared to previous waves.
The delta trend in northern Russia has been compared to a “tidal wave,” with an initial drop in new cases in early 2021 that was reduced in the middle of the year through a sharp increase.
The delta variant of the virus was the dominant cause of the disease in 2021, but has since been replaced by other variants.
Alaska’s experience with the 2021 delta wave provides important lessons, both positive and negative, according to the study. The immediate distribution of vaccines, attributed in large part to the work of indigenous organizations, corresponded to a relief in the death rate even as COVID-19 moved to incredibly remote parts of the world, he said.
Alaska’s highest initial vaccination rates were due in large part to strong vaccine distribution networks, Indigenous values emphasizing coverage and respect for the elderly, and “culturally appropriate messaging methods to triumph over vaccine vacillation and tribal sovereignty that allowed tribal teams to set their campaigns and priorities. ” says the study. Prioritizing access to immunization for key members of the network, such as seniors, guardians of wisdom and physical care providers “has strengthened Alaskans’ overall confidence in the vaccine,” he said.
This contrasts with the scenario in northern Russia, where low vaccination rates, combined with “low preparedness, inconsistent measures of prevention of public fitness, reduced fitness care capabilities, and other factors,” correlated with higher mortality rates.
On the downside, the study noted that the strong buildup in cases where the Alaska Delta wave in 2021 came after the state lifted its restrictions, and Alaska became a national COVID hotspot of the delta wave. In Alaska, as in other regions, “an early reopening may have hampered efforts to curb the pandemic,” according to the study.
Overall, reports across the Arctic recommend that a “delay-preparedness-response” technique is most effective at managing pandemics in remote and largely indigenous regions and communities, the study concludes.
“The Arctic technique not only reduces the number of deaths, but addresses the demanding situations produced by COVID-19 while offering a lesson for dealing with long-term pandemics that are likely to be inevitable and more aggressive,” he said.
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