Fewer people in Carroll County are wearing masks while indoors, and more are gathering together attending concerts, enjoying eating out, and going to church. As the Covid-19 pandemic enters its second winter, free vaccines are readily available. About three new cases are being reported in the county per day, and the number of active cases as of Nov. 8 was estimated at 28, according to the Arkansas Dept. of Health.
But because only about 47 percent of county residents are fully vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still ranks Carroll County as being at high risk for Covid-19 infections, and even vaccinated people should wear masks appropriately.
Dr. Dan Bell, co-founder of the ECHO Clinic, said he is not sure if it is time for people to relax their guard.
“People are not wearing masks and they are gathering together,” Bell said. “People are wanting to go on with their lives. I feel it myself, too. There are times before I would have worn a mask and I decide I’m not a risk. But we should still be cautious. For people who have had their first two shots and the booster, it may be appropriate. But there is still significant spread. The decline in cases is flattening out. Arkansas numbers seem to have hit a plateau. It looks like they are going to stay flat or go back up because of fewer precautions and people gathering for the holiday season. We are going to have a holiday surge, but it will probably be flattened.”
Statewide there have been 8,497 deaths by early November and 4,580 active cases of Covid.
Some people may think they can get monoclonal antibody infusions if they come down with Covid, but Bell doesn’t think people should rely on that.
“Merck has a pill that works, but it hasn’t been approved here in the U.S. yet,” Bell said. “We don’t have any new, effective treatments, so I don’t think people should be counting on that. There is that small group of people who when they get it, they get very sick.”
Bell said we are likely now in a transition from an acute pandemic to the more chronic stage. Health officials say they expect a chronic low-grade infection with Covid probably for the next few years. resembling influenza. Bell said there will probably be an annual booster to treat the latest Covid strains that is likely to be offered in the fall at the same time flu shots are available.
ECHO Clinic has been offering drive-through booster shots on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon. The first two clinics had an average of 170 booster shots given. Bell said people are tolerating the Moderna shots with few side effects. The doses are half the size of the first two shots. People need to wait until six months after their second shot to receive the booster. Those eligible for boosters must be 65 or older and/or having underlying health conditions or workplace exposure that puts them at higher risk. Bell said people will be taken at their word and not questioned about health conditions or workplace exposure.
“We have a very efficient system,” Bell said. “People don’t even have to leave their car.”
To register for an appointment for the Moderna booster at the ECHO Clinic, go to the website bit.ly/echo-vax. Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for first, second and booster doses are available Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Eureka Springs Hospital.
One contraindication for the vaccines might be a previous case of Guillain-Barré, an immune system disorder that has been linked to earlier flu vaccines and, in rare cases, the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine. Bell said they are not seeing Guillain-Barré with the messenger RNA vaccines Moderna and Pfizer. He said Guillain-Barré is rare, but if a patient has a history of it and doesn’t want the Covid vaccines, that is a personal decision.
“We have doctors at each station who carefully discuss with patients what they had had in the past,” Bell said. “If someone has already had Covid or had a bad reaction to the first or second shot, they might consider not doing a booster. There might be individuals who aren’t inclined to take it. But it looks like it is safe for most people. It is better than the risk of ending up in ICU and dying as opposed to rare side effects or a mild cold condition.”
Vaccines have been approved now for 5- to 11-year-olds, but the rollout on those in Arkansas has been slow. Bell said it is going to cut down transmission substantially to get kids vaccinated.
Eureka Springs Hospital CEO Angie Shaw said they hope to soon have approval to provide Covid shots to the 5-11 age group. Previously the hospital held clinics at the local schools and would like to do so again. Those 12 and above can currently get shots at the hospital’s Friday clinics from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.