Alaska Governor Tries to Assist Opening Canadian Border by Offering Vaccines

Alaska, the friendly neighbor of Canada, is offering to help vaccinate its citizens in hopes that the U.S.-Canada border can reopen sooner. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy wants to offer vaccinations to residents in Stewart, B.C. “We feel we have enough vaccines to go and vaccinate folks in Stewart that have not yet been vaccinated if they so choose,” said Gov. Dunleavy.

“We believe that we’re going to have enough vaccines for folks to come over from the Yukon…we do have a large supply of vaccines at this point. We’ll vaccinate anyone that comes into the state of Alaska” Dunleavy added in his discussion with Power & Politics host Vassy Kapelos.

Canada’s CBC News writes “travel restrictions implemented by the federal and provincial governments have made it very hard for residents in Hyder, Alaska to access essential services and supplies in neighboring Stewart.”

The vaccination rollout has been a substantially different scenario in Alaska versus B.C. In March, Alaska became one of the first states in the U.S. to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to anyone over the age of 16. In B.C., however, only 30 percent of those eligible for a vaccine have received at least one dose reports CBC.

A similar scenario to what Alaska Governor Dunleavy is offering has occurred elsewhere along the border. “Saskatchewan and Alberta, meanwhile, have reached an agreement with North Dakota to vaccinate truckers and energy workers crossing the Canada-U.S. border” reports the CBC.