About one in 500 Alaskans died of COVID-19 between 2020 and 2023. That’s according to an epidemiology bulletin the Alaska Department of Health released Dec. 9, which says there were substantial racial disparities in rates of COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality in the state.
Early in the pandemic, for instance, age-adjusted mortality rates in the state were about 3.6 times higher for Asian and Pacific Islander people compared to white people, according to the bulletin. The disparity during that period – from June 2020 to January 2021 – was greatest among American Indian and Alaska Native people, whose age-adjusted mortality rate was 5.5 times higher than that of white people.
“It matters because … at the end of the day, what we would like to get to is that there are no disparities based on race for the various disease processes and vulnerabilities that people may have,” said Jacoline Bergstrom, the executive director of health services for Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC), a nonprofit tribal organization based in Fairbanks that aims to advance the health and social service needs of its 42 members, 37 of which are federally-recognized tribes.
Bergstrom read the state bulletin and said the results didn’t come as a surprise, since officials were tracking data during the pandemic. Other studies have also observed similar disparities nationally. But she said the report’s comprehensive look back at COVID-19 in Alaska makes it a useful resource.
“Because when we were in it, we were in it, right? And we were tracking real-time,” Bergstrom said.
The 33-page document splits the pandemic into seven distinct eras and reviews multiple topics, including the disparities, but also the spread of the virus, the state’s response, the efficacy of vaccines and gaps in pandemic preparedness.
The magnitude of the racial disparities for hospitalization and mortality rates in Alaska fluctuated in the different phases of COVID-19 analyzed in the bulletin. But it says that the disproportionate impacts “continued for the entirety of the pandemic in Alaska,” and concluded by saying more research is needed to grasp the underlying social and structural issues.
Bergstrom also said the causes behind the disparities are numerous and complex, but she said limited access to running water in some parts of Alaska is one example. That’s because it impacts people’s ability to take preventative measures, like hand-washing, she said.
According to the Alaska Division of Water, more than 3,300 homes in Alaska don’t have modern plumbing, and a study during the pandemic linked limited water resources with increased risk for COVID-19 in Alaska villages. Bergstrom said the new report offers more evidence that improving those resources would be a boon to public health.
“Just seeing this data … it’s another really important factor where we can show – and say, ‘Hey, we need to get water and sanitation to our rural communities,’ because we know, we’ve seen some of the impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
Through Megan Darrow, a state department of health spokesperson, the state section of epidemiology declined an interview request about the bulletin, saying emailed questions would be routed to the appropriate “subject matter experts.”
In a written response to questions, health officials wrote that the disparities in Alaska COVID-19 amplified pre-existing inequities, and that contributing factors likely include housing conditions, limited access to timely or speciality healthcare, and higher prevalence of underlying medical conditions associated with severe COVID-19.
The response also said that “[r]educing disparities in a future pandemic will require both long-term structural investments and strengthened public health systems,” including culturally grounded outreach, expanded access to care, modernized disease surveillance systems, as well as a clinical a public health workforce “capable of sustaining prolonged, high-intensity responses.”