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COVID-19 cases are declining nationwide — but Alaska's health care system is at a breaking point

While COVID-19 cases are declining nationwide, health care workers in Alaska are still scrambling after a recent surge of mostly unvaccinated patients has overwhelmed the state’s medical system.

Limited resources have forced doctors to make grim choices about who receives care, which means some patients are left without the medical attention they desperately need.

Dr. Steven Floerchinger, a trauma and acute care surgeon working with patients at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, tells us what is happening on the ground.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.