Tanana Chiefs Conference donates 800 doses of vaccine to Eielson AFB

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - The Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) has donated 800 doses of Moderna vaccine to Eielson Air Force Base.

Chief/Chairman of TCC PJ Simon was happy to announce the March 29, 2021 donation to Eielson. Simon remarked, “At Tanana Chiefs, we’re proud to donate 800 Moderna vaccinations to Eielson Air Force Base. I think keeping our military personnel, the airmen safe... the U.S. The Air Force provides us freedom by military service and if Tanana Chiefs, on behalf of the 42 Tribes, that we can provide freedom in society by keeping them and their families safe as they provide their valuable service the Interior and Fairbanks Alaska.”

According to TCC, since late December the group has administered more than 14,000 doses in Fairbanks and 26 rural Alaska communities. This week, TCC completes first and second dose vaccination efforts for rural Alaskans living in the 26 villages for which TCC provides healthcare.

Chief Simon said, “We’re happy to be part of making Fairbanks safe. We’ve grown with Fairbanks. There’s a lot of wonderful Alaska Native people here in Fairbanks, so we’re happy to be part of the community, and especially Eielson Air Force Base. If we can provide a safety measure for the men and women of the Air Force to come into Fairbanks and surrounding areas to enjoy, shop in, or get out a little bit more, we’re happy to do that.”

Eielson leadership commented, “In the fight against COVID, we’re all in this together. We appreciate the doses we received from the Tanana Chiefs Conference and we’re looking forward to providing vaccines to the volunteers in our base community as soon as possible.”

Residents of the Fairbanks North Star Borough who are not Indian Health Services beneficiaries can sign up online for a vaccination at TCC’s website.

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