Amid lower vaccination rates and persistent public skepticism about vaccine recommendations, Alaska’s Department of Health (DOH) is set to embark on a massive statewide community vaccination operation, deploying scores of mobile clinics at fairs, public events and other gatherings across the state.
On May 26, the state issued a call for proposals with a budget ranging from $2.5 million to $5 million. Half of that money is specifically targeted for response to disease outbreaks.
A similar effort was rolled out during the Covid outbreak, which included more than 80 “pop-up” clinics offering free shots regardless of insurance status.
The new contract seeks to build on the Covid-era work by offering free shots for all routinely recommended vaccines from the state.
The goal is to specifically target Alaska Native populations in rural areas, as well as locations that are deemed to have “low immunization” rates, such as the Mat-Su.
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The state wants a contractor who will operate as an “incident commander” by mobilizing a “large-scale public vaccination clinic” in the event of an outbreak. The length of the contract is up to five years with the long-term goal of increasing vaccines across all age groups, while building surge capacity and operational networks for future emergencies.
Ever since the Covid outbreak, state health officials have deployed public relations campaigns and statewide messaging operations in an attempt to restore public trust in state vaccine recommendations. This follows a time in which health officials openly maligned those who expressed concerns about experimental Covid shots, while unquestioningly echoing every new and changing recommendation by Dr. Anthony Fauci and the CDC when it came to pushing Covid jabs and multiple boosters on infants, children, pregnant women and the elderly.
