Before Thanksgiving, people were occupied with plans to get together and what to cook. New cases of Covid-19 were trending up slightly in Carroll County, according to figures from the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH). Testing has been down significantly while hospitalizations in the state have been increasing.
Then, the day before Thanksgiving, there came news of the new variant named “omicron” coming out of South Africa and concerns that it could be more contagious than earlier strains. The new variant has sparked travel bans even as it is appearing in parts of the world far distant from the country where it was first identified. Some doctors in South Africa are stating that the infection is mild, but it has caused alarm around the world. When this article was written Nov. 29, it was less than a week since the variant had been identified and its potential impact on the pandemic was unknown.
Carroll County had only 18 new cases of Covid reported with only an estimated 28 active cases in mid-November, according to information provided by the ADH. As of Nov. 29, 34 new cases had been reported in the previous week and 48 were considered active.
The week before Thanksgiving was the first week that pediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine were available at schools in Eureka Springs. Child-size doses of Pfizer were recently given emergency use approval for children five to 11. Eureka Springs Hospital CEO Angie Shaw said shots were offered at the school Nov. 18 by ESH and the Carroll County Health Department.
“The kids seemed all very happy even though they were getting a vaccine,” Shaw said. “In the beginning, it was a real eye opener to see how happy and thankful people were. We still get thanked a lot.”
Eureka Springs Schools Supt. Bryan Pruitt said he was pleased at the response to the vaccination clinic with 30 elementary and 20 middle school students getting vaccinated.
“We do not want to pressure everyone to get vaccinated, but we do want everyone safe and healthy,” Pruitt said. “Whether you get vaccinated or not, that is your decision. I think it is your personal preference. I hate to see people losing their jobs because they make a choice to not be vaccinated. But we would like to continue here without masks if at all possible. If we have to go back to the masks to keep everyone safe, we will explore that.”
Pruitt said it is so much easier to teach and learn without masks, especially in the younger age groups. Masks make it harder to teach annunciation and how to read.
“We are maintaining our cleanliness and social distancing as best as we can,” Pruitt said. “We know there is another variant on the way and, hopefully, we will escape that. Fingers crossed.”
Another vaccination clinic at the school will be held Dec. 9 for first and second shots for students. Pruitt said more than 70 percent of the 110 staff have been vaccinated. While there is a federal mandate for Covid vaccinations for employees in many different categories, the Arkansas Legislature has passed a ban on being required to take the Covid vaccination as a condition of employment. A federal judge recently issued a preliminary injunction on the federal mandate for healthcare facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funding.
Some local parents have opted against having their children vaccinated. One young mother of three school-age children said she decided against vaccination of her children because she feels the risks of the vaccines are higher than the risks of her children getting Covid, which is usually mild in children. The woman, who is not identified to protect privacy, said she was concerned about Covid vaccines causing myocarditis, which she said is fatal in young men who received the vaccines.
There have been cases of myocarditis reported primarily in older teen and young adult males after taking the mRNA vaccines, either Moderna or Pfizer. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that from March 2020–January 2021, patients with Covid-19 had nearly 16 times the risk for myocarditis compared with patients who did not have Covid-19.
“Myocarditis in young men generally is not fatal,” Dr. Dan Bell of ECHO Clinic, said. “It responds to steroids and they recover. Getting Covid is 56 times more likely to damage your heart than the vaccine, and it may be long lasting. The virus also causes other complications in young people including strokes, blood clots and pneumonia.”
ECHO will continue its drive-through Covid booster clinics Dec. 1, Dec. 8 and Dec. 15 with appointments available from 1 to 3:15 p.m. To register for an appointment for the Moderna booster, go to the website bit.ly/echo-vax.
“Hopefully we will be able to give everyone a booster who wants a booster,” Bell said. “We haven’t seen anyone having a reaction to the shots other than the slight side effects of getting a little headache or just achy. People are reporting fewer side effects with the booster than the second shot. People need to think about their family and their community. The vaccines aren’t just for the individual, but to protect everyone around them.”
Bell said he expects to see a winter surge in Covid cases but not as severe as ago. Cases started to go up Nov. 1, 2020, and the highest incidence was Jan. 12, after the holidays.
“Almost certainly that is what is going to happen this year, but it is going to be half the surge because we have half as many potential people for the virus to infect because of vaccination,” he said. “Many of the cases will be in younger people who are less likely to have been vaccinated, and there will be fewer people in the hospital and fewer people will die. We have had 75 people die of Covid in Carroll County so far, and 8,162 deaths in Arkansas. So even if it is half the surge seen this past year, it is going to be a very big deal.”
Arkansas has been in the bottom 10 states for percent of residents who are fully immunized. With the addition of the 5 to 11-year-old population, it is estimated that 43 percent of Carroll County residents are fully immunized, and 49 percent of Arkansas residents fully immunized, according to the CDC.