Anchorage vaccine clinics target Alaska’s Pacific Islanders

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Anchorage Health Department has arranged two mobile clinics to provide coronavirus vaccinations specifically targeting members of Alaska’s community of Pacific Islanders. The Anchorage Daily News reports that the clinics were the first targeting one specific community since the pandemic began. The focused clinic strategy has been used by the department during past outbreaks of illness. There were about 160 appointments available for the two clinics, which were advertised via word of mouth among Pacific Islanders rather than via the usual appointment sites accessible to the public. The so-called pocket allocations were possible because Anchorage had discretion in using the state’s monthly vaccine supplies.