A few weeks ago, the estimated number of Covid deaths in Carroll County went down from 104 to 103, with no explanation from the Arkansas Department of Health. Most commonly when a death is removed, it is because it was attributed to another county or another cause. Two more deaths have been added recently by ADH bringing total Covid deaths to 105 deaths as of June 20.
The county’s active cases as of June 20 were listed as 60. That is still small compared to a high of 580 active cases in the country Jan. 18 during the surge by the first omicron variant.
ADH figures show active cases have continued to grow in the state with 1,000 new cases added June 16 with a total of 8,308 active cases in the state as of June 20. Health officials say the state is seeing the highest daily average of new cases since late February. Those numbers are likely undercounted because of the number of people who use home tests and those who have no symptoms.
A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine said: “Our findings indicate that vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease caused by the omicron variant is substantially lower than with the delta variant. After two doses, vaccine effectiveness waned rapidly, with very limited vaccine effects seen from 20 weeks after the second dose of any vaccine. Booster doses resulted in a substantial increase in protection against mild infection; however, waning of protection against symptomatic disease was also seen after booster doses.”
Even the nation’s top virus expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to President Biden and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who was fully vaccinated and boosted, caught Covid-19 recently. He was reportedly experiencing only mild symptoms.
A number of locals have also reported catching Covid, some more than once, despite having been fully vaccinated and boosted. While some people don’t even know they have Covid, others report being very sick, but not needing hospitalization.
Dr. John House said he believes the CDC’s message has changed to state that vaccines don’t prevent infection, but they still prevent hospitalizations and death. “That seems to be what we’re seeing,” he said. “It does appear that the boosters’ effectiveness against infection wanes after a certain amount of time. That being said, they do appear to help prevent serious illness and death, if not prevent infection. Mask wearing (N95, not ear loop) does prevent most viral transmission, and if a person is considered high risk, they might want to consider wearing one when in a public place, such as a store, or church, sporting event, etc.”
House said vaccine fatigue is something that the CDC and other health agencies are likely taking into consideration. “I suspect compliance with vaccines will decrease in direct relation to the increased frequency of recommended vaccines,” House wrote in an email to the Independent.
Dr. Dan Bell, co-founder of the ECHO Clinic, said this slow-motion surge of Covid cases is continuing to trend up a bit.
“We are clearly seeing a rise in cases,” Bell said. “I don’t think anyone knows how high it is going to go. Hospitals are seeing a few more cases. It is not dramatic, but it reminds us that Covid is still with us. We don’t need to go back into lockdown but be aware of your circumstances. If you are going in for health care, working in tight quarters with people, or around someone with cold symptoms, wearing a mask makes sense.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently authorized Covid vaccines for the pediatric population with the Moderna vaccine authorized for children from six months to six years, and the Pfizer vaccine was authorized for children age six months to five years.
Eureka Springs Hospital will be offering free Covid vaccinations Friday, June 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the clinic across from the hospital’s main entrance. Vaccinations are also available at some pharmacies in the county including Economy Drugs and Walmart in Berryville and at the Carroll County Health Unit in Berryville.