There have been reports of Covid making the rounds locally with some adults experiencing mild cases and others reporting being very sick but not requiring hospitalization. Some vulnerable adults are starting to wear masks and avoid large crowds.
Eureka Springs High School Superintendent Bryan Pruitt said there have been only two recent cases of Covid among students, with those two recovering quickly and now back in school. Pruitt said most of what they have seen at the school is strep throat. There has been a respiratory illness going around not related to Covid, and some people have symptoms related to mold and grass pollen.
Pruitt said one administrator is out with the respiratory illness but mostly the school has escaped widespread illness this season, although there were a few Covid cases among students earlier in the year. There are up to 750 people including staff and students on the campus of pre-schoolers through 12th grade.
U.S. households are once again eligible for four free Covid test kits. See covid.gov/tests. That website also has a link to find out if test kits that were sent earlier have had their expiration dates extended.
Covid vaccines are not yet available locally. Boston Mountain Rural Health Center and Washington Regional are expected to have the shots available sometime later in the month, according to Dr. Dan Bell, a Boston Mountain physician and co-founder of the ECHO Medical Clinic.
Bell said the shots aren’t going to be free to everyone as in the past. There will be no drive-through shots available at ECHO as in earlier years. Boston Mountain shots are going to be available only for Boston Mountain Clinic. Shots won’t be free at other locations but will be covered by some medical insurance.
“The Covid shots are very expensive, and the pharmacies can’t afford to get very many of them at once,” Bell said. “I expect there is going to be an availability problem because of the cost. We need to be getting them right now and they just aren’t widely available. I think people should get one vaccine shot at a time. While it is more efficient to get both at the same time, if someone has a reaction to a shot, what are you reacting to? The flu or Covid shot? I think people need to get their flu shot now and the Covid vaccine later.”
Outlets for vaccines in Berryville are Economy Drug, Poynter Drugs and Walmart.
Bell said they are not seeing much Covid at the Boston Mountain Clinic and, in general, the disease is milder. “Most everyone has a little immunity either from the shots or earlier infections,” Bell said. “It doesn’t mean we need to let our guard down. People need to isolate if they get Covid to avoid infecting others who might be more vulnerable.”