Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 were down slightly this week, the Department of Health reported Tuesday.

According to the state’s data hub, 40 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19, with one on a ventilator. Last week DOH reported that 42 patients were hospitalized.

According to state data, as of Tuesday, one patient was hospitalized in the Gulf Coast region, which includes the Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak and the Chugach census area. Last week, a data error delayed the update of the state’s hospital dashboard, but two weeks ago six patients were reported to be hospitalized with COVID-19 in the Gulf Coast.

The state reported 19 new resident deaths from COVID-19 this week. Deaths are reported in batches, as they are confirmed by the state. No information is provided about when these deaths occurred. One of those deaths was reported to be in the Kenai Peninsula Borough. To date, there have been 1,418 deaths statewide from COVID-19 and 120 in the borough.

Due to the widespread availability of at-home COVID testing, officials say hospitalization and recent death data are more effective indicators of the virus’ spread than case counts.

For the period of Dec. 11 to Dec. 17, 374 new resident COVID-19 cases were reported. Case counts are up from last week, when officials reported 322 new resident cases for the period of Dec. 4 to Dec. 10.

For the most recent week, 19 cases were reported in the Kenai Peninsula Borough. This is down from 30 last week.

Officials recommend all eligible Alaskans be up to date on their COVID vaccines to minimize the infection’s impact on communities. Anyone 6 months and older is eligible for a primary vaccination series and everyone 5 and up can receive a booster.

An updated bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine is available in Alaska. These are designed to tackle both the original COVID-19 strain and the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of omicron. State health officials say that BA.5 is being detected in the majority of COVID-19 cases in Alaska.

The new booster is available to eligible individuals at least two months after their last shot, whether that was a booster dose or their primary vaccine series.

Boosters are recommended whether or not a person has already contracted the virus.

As of Tuesday, 57.2% of Alaskans have completed a primary series of the COVID-19 vaccine. Only 10.4% are up to date on their vaccine and have received the bivalent booster. In the Kenai Peninsula Borough, 9.8% are up to date on their vaccine. In the borough, 48.9% — nearly half of all individuals — have not received even a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

For more information on vaccine eligibility, visit https://dhss.alaska.gov/dph/epi/id/pages/covid-19/vaccineinfo.aspx.

A map of vaccine providers can be found on DOH’s COVID-19 vaccine website at covidvax.alaska.gov.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.