Mayor Suzanne LaFrance has hired a retired epidemiologist from Oregon who has extensive experience working in China to be Anchorage’s new medical director.
Dr. George Conway retired from a similar position at Deschutes County, Oregon, where Bend is the county seat. During the Covid pandemic, the county allowed employers to require workers to receive a Covid-19 shot, with limited exceptions. Over 73% of the population of Oregon took the Covid shots, which the State of Oregon has officially deemed safe for everyone. Shot mandates were not controversial in Oregon, as they are in Alaska.
According to the Deschutes County web page dedicated to Covid information, “All of the COVID-19 vaccines being given in Oregon are safe for everyone, even if you’re pregnant. The vaccines have been tested with thousands of people around the world. Black, Indigenous, Latino/a and people of color have chosen to be part of these research studies to make sure the vaccines are safe for our communities. We know they are safe and work very well to keep people from getting sick with COVID-19.”