Gov. Dunleavy urges Alaskans to get vaccinated, his most forceful message yet

Gov. Mike Dunleavy discusses the state of the coronavirus pandemic during a news conference at the Atwood Building in Anchorage on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (Matthew Faubion / Alaska Public Media)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy discusses the state of the coronavirus pandemic during a news conference at the Atwood Building in Anchorage on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (Matthew Faubion / Alaska Public Media)

Gov. Mike Dunleavy yesterday issued his most forceful message yet asking Alaskans to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“I strongly urge folks to get a vaccine — strongly urge them to do that,” Dunleavy said.

In the past, Dunleavy has qualified his calls for vaccination.

Dunleavy made the remarks while discussing the failure of legislation he proposed that was intended to ease the strain on hospitals from the recent surge in cases.

Hospitals asked Dunleavy to issue a disaster declaration. He declined to do that, and instead proposed the legislation, which would have increased access to telehealth care and temporarily relaxed some rules hospitals have to follow.

The bill died in the House.

Andrew Kitchenman

State Government Reporter, Alaska Public Media & KTOO

State government plays an outsized role in the life of Alaskans. As the state continues to go through the painful process of deciding what its priorities are, I bring Alaskans to the scene of a government in transition.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Read next

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications