Beginning Monday, Jan. 11, many more people will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
Starting Jan. 11, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation is opening the vaccine to anyone living in a village who is age 16 or older. The Food and Drug Administration has not authorized people under the age of 16 to receive the vaccine. The Pfizer vaccine is authorized for people age 16 and older; the Moderna vaccine is authorized for people age 18 and older.
In Bethel, there will be more restrictions on who is eligible for the vaccine than there will be in the villages. Anyone in Bethel age 50 or older will be eligible for a vaccination beginning Jan. 11. Until then, anyone age 65 or older is eligible.
Also beginning Jan. 11, anyone in Bethel living in a congregant shelter will be eligible to receive the vaccine. These shelters include the Tundra Women’s Coalition, Bethel Winter House, Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center, Tundra Center, and treatment centers.
Across the region, all frontline essential workers and YKHC employees are currently eligible to receive the vaccine.
Anyone within these eligible categories who would like to receive a COVID-19 vaccination can fill out an online form to request a vaccination at:
If you live in a village and need help accessing the form or don’t have internet access, you can call your local village clinic or tribal office for assistance. If you live in Bethel, you can call the COVID-19 hotline at 543-6949, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Over 1,550 people in the region have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Second doses began the week of Jan. 4.
