Arkansas added more than 1,000 new cases of Covid-19 each day for several days before this past weekend, and active cases increased to 10,141 by June 27, levels not seen since the omicron surge in mid-February, according to the Arkansas Department of Health. Carroll County reached 77 active cases June 27, up from 60 a week earlier, and an additional death was added, bringing the county’s death total to 106, according to the ADH website.
The current increase in cases comes at a time when the requirement to wear masks in public, including on airlines within the country, has been removed. Few people are wearing masks in public. More people are traveling and meeting in large groups. The current dominant omicron variant is considered the most highly contagious seen so far, but is causing fewer hospitalizations and deaths, according to the American Medical Association.
One thing people who catch Covid today have going for them is that there are now effective oral antiviral medications available free. One local woman who took the antiviral medicine Paxlovid starting June 25 reported that she was much better within 24 hours of starting the medication. She was able to get a prescription from the Walmart Pharmacy in Berryville.
Dr. Dan Bell, co-founder of the ECHO Clinic, said the antiviral medicines are resources that Covid patients should use if they are over 65 years of age, are having moderate to severe symptoms, or have underlying conditions like immune system disorders, COPD, and other health problems. Bell said people who feel sicker than a regular cold—more like a bad flu—should seek medical consultation after testing positive for Covid.
“Most of them will need to be seen and examined, and then the doctor can call in a prescription,” Bell said. “The doctor needs to know the patient. Are the kidneys functioning well? What other medicines are they on? The antiviral pills can interact with other drugs like cardiovascular medicines. The antiviral medicines can affect how the body processes other medicines. If you are not on medicines that interact, these antiviral pills really shut down replication of the virus and help your immune system.”
Bell said some people have side effects like nausea, but most people tolerate it well and are feeling better within 24 hours. He said it is an excellent new medicine but should be used with some caution. Some Paxlovid patients report a bad taste in their mouths can be helped by sucking on a peppermint.
Bell said he thinks people have gotten a little too cavalier about getting tested for Covid when experiencing symptoms.
“If you have a cough, fever and congestion, you need to get tested for Covid not only for your benefit, but to help those around you,” he said. “The delta variant caused a loss of the sense of smell in about half the cases. The new variants are a little sneakier, and only seven to nine percent of people lose their sense of smell. People can’t tell as easily. People could easily be misled by this and think they just have a bad summer cold.”
Yale Medicine said Paxlovid, developed by Pfizer, had an 89 percent reduction in the risk of hospitalization and death, a number that was high enough to prompt the National Institutes of Health to prioritize it over other Covid-19 treatments. Yale said it’s cheaper than many other Covid-19 treatments, is provided free by the U.S. government while there is a public health emergency, and is expected to work against the omicron variant.
“I think it is the beginning of a ‘game-changer,’” Scott Roberts, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist, wrote in an online post. “It’s really our first efficacious oral antiviral pill for this virus. It shows clear benefits, and it really can prevent hospitalization and death in people who are at high risk.”
There are some early indications that Paxlovid may prevent long Covid, which is when people have persistent symptoms or organ dysfunction that can last months or years after the initial infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have estimated one in five adults with a Covid infection develop long Covid. Little is known about how to treat long Covid, which can present in a large number of different ways.
The FDA also granted Emergency Use Authorization for Merck’s oral medication molnupiravir, but some studies indicate that molnupiravir only reduces hospitalization and death by 30 percent. The oral medications are considered an improvement over the intravenous injection remdesivir because of the convenience of being able to take the pills at home.
There have been concerns that a lot of people are using home tests that are not being reported by the state. Some people in Eureka Springs are getting tested in Berryville including at the Carroll County Health Unit. Testing is also available at the Eureka Springs Hospital. Samantha Jones of ESH said that between June 15 to June 27, they have had seven positives out of 81 tests.
Testing by appointment is available Monday through Friday 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Call (479) 253-7400 for an appointment to be tested, and someone will come out to your vehicle. Right now, testing is free but people who have insurance are asked to provide their insurance card. Call if you need to get tested on the weekend, after checking in at the emergency room. Jones said their grant funding to administer Covid testing won’t exist forever, so ESH will have to start charging for Covid tests in the near future.
There are currently no Covid patients hospitalized at the ESH.
“Symptoms appear to be milder, something we are very thankful for,” Jones said. “We are staying optimistic about the future but taking precautions to protect staff and patients. We never stopped masking in patient care areas, and with cases rising, we have returned to masking in all areas of the hospital. We take this very seriously and are doing all we can to reduce transmission.”
The hospital offers free vaccine clinics and held its most recent clinic June 24. It will be a few weeks before it is offered again. To get on the list to be notified of the next vaccine clinic, call Jones at (479) 253-7400, extension 4802, or email Samantha.Jones@eurekaspringshospital.com.
Free vaccines are also available in Berryville at pharmacies and at the Carroll County Health Unit. Pediatric dose vaccines recently became available for children ages six months to five years—the last age group to be approved for vaccines.