Anchorage Hospitalizations Rocket As Mayor Bronson Refuses to Act

COVID-19 related hospitalizations continue to climb in the Municipality of Anchorage this week as  Mayor David Bronson, who said he would "Save Anchorage," refuses to implement COVID mitigation strategies that would reduce the flow of patients into Anchorage hospitals.

According to data from the Municipal COVID dashboard this morning, Anchorage now has 117 COVID patients hospitalized with the virus and two patients suspected of having COVID.

Worse, staffed ICU capacity in the municipality plummeted overnight from 7 available critical care beds to just 1. For the last four consecutive days, the number of confirmed COVID patients hospitalized in Anchorage has increased day over day.

Anchorage COVID Hospitalizations September 7-10

Healthcare officials have repeatedly warned that unless steps were taken to slow the spread of the virus, Anchorage would see a collapse of its healthcare system.

Earlier this week, Mayor Bronson doubled down on his pro-COVID position, telling Alaska Public Media that he didn't think mask mandates or business closures prevented coronavirus infections. Bronson said he wouldn’t impose any mandates or restrictions, even if lines for care were seen outside Anchorage’s hospital emergency rooms.

In a press release issued yesterday by the Mayor's Office, Bronson activated his frenzied "Save Anchorage" supporters by taking another pro-COVID position — this one aimed at President Biden's directive to the U.S. Labor Department that would require all businesses with 100 or more employees to get vaccinated or get tested once a week.

In his press release, Bronson wrote that the idea government would mandate businesses to force personal medical decisions on their employees was "flat out wrong and immoral, and beyond the authority of the President." Bronson also wrote that the Municipality would not comply with this directive of the President, outlandishly suggesting that President Biden was ignoring the science behind "natural immunity."

In an August 6, 2021 media statement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study showing that vaccinations offered a higher level of protection than natural immunity. The study conducted among previously infected people with SAR-CoV-2 demonstrated that unvaccinated individuals were more than twice as likely to be reinfected with COVID-19 than those who were fully vaccinated after initially contracting the virus.

"These data further indicate that COVID-19 vaccines offer better protection than natural immunity alone and that vaccines, even after prior infection, help prevent reinfections," the media statement said.

Bronson has repeatedly said that his administration is committed to giving Anchorage residents access to resources and information they need to make "informed personal decisions for themselves and their families" concerning mask-wearing and vaccines, but clearly "personal choice" has not worked to reduce both the transmission of the coronavirus and the stream of patients flooding Anchorage hospitals.

One thing is clear, however. If Anchorage's healthcare system collapses, Anchorage residents will know exactly who to hold accountable.