With the state receiving an increasing supply of Covid-19 vaccines, Gov. Asa Hutchinson has opened up eligibility for Covid-19 vaccinations to all residents of Arkansas who are in the age groups approved for the vaccines. The Pfizer vaccine is approved for people aged 16 and over, the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are approved for people 18 and over.
The three vaccines have received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Pfizer requires two shots 21 days apart, Moderna requires two shots 28 days apart and Johnson & Johnson requires only one shot.
Dr. Dan Bell, who has been overseeing volunteer efforts by the ECHO Clinic to vaccinate local residents, said he was very happy the governor opened up eligibility.
“This was very appropriate,” Bell said. “We are using our online scheduling systems now, but it is not filling up all our reservations. We have plenty of vaccines. Plenty of professionals are available to give them. By lifting all restrictions, we can get everyone vaccinated as soon as possible.”
The website to reserve spots for the drive-through clinic for the free shots is bit.ly/echovax.
In mid-March, the governor opened up all residents in category 1-C to vaccine eligibility. That included people 16 and older with pre-existing medical conditions, and people in a large number of professions including food service, lodging and banking. ECHO saw a lot of demand in those categories.
“Young folks are taking it seriously including our local employees at grocery stores, restaurants, lodging, and other hospitality businesses,” Bell said. “They know they need to get vaccinated and they are coming in. Arkansas is lagging a little behind some other states in the percent of the population that has been vaccinated, but we are doing all right. We hope people who have been vaccinated will talk to others and encourage them to get on the link and schedule a vaccination. There are plenty of vaccines available. There are volunteers joyfully providing the shots. We are happy to serve them and I hope everyone will take advantage of that.”
Currently ECHO is providing a mixture of first and second shots on Wednesdays.
There has been concern both in the state, nation and world about removing Covid-19 restrictions too quickly, which could lead to a surge—particularly with new variants that are more contagious and virulent. In the two weeks ending March 28, new Covid-19 cases in the U.S. were up 15 percent, deaths were down 29 percent and hospitalizations were down five percent. Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey were among the states with the highest increases in new cases, states where the more contagious variants were becoming dominant. There was concern that large spring break crowds in Florida could increase the number of new Covid cases in that state.
“The numbers are staying down pretty well in Arkansas,” Bell said. “We are seeing a slow decline in daily cases. But I think everyone has that concern about people dropping their guard too soon and the potential to see another little surge. What should be in everyone’s mind is there is a chance this will go up again. There is a vaccine in front of you. You need to get vaccinated now. This thing is not over. These variants could give us another surge.”
Hutchinson also let the state’s mask mandate end at the end of the month. But some people, even those fully vaccinated, say they intend to continue to wear masks and avoid large crowds until it is clear the pandemic is under control.
Carroll County had only one additional Covid case reported between March 15-22, and seven new cases March 23-28. The county’s percent positivity of tests as of March 12 was 1.7 percent with less than 10 percent considered ideal. The county is up to a total of 2,328 cases with 39 deaths, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.
ADH estimated there are currently 2,206 active cases of Covid in the state. New cases have been averaging fewer than 200 per day with only 79 reported March 29. There are about 2,500 fewer active cases and 275 fewer hospitalizations in the state than on March 1.
As of March 28, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated about 93.6 million people received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, and about 51.6 million have been fully vaccinated against the virus that has killed about 548,000 Americans. CDC estimated that if the vaccinations continue at the current pace, which isn’t a given because of the large number of people who have indicated they won’t get vaccinated, about half the population would be at least partially vaccinated in early May and 70 percent of Americans could be vaccinated by June 16.
“Some experts have estimated that 70 to 90 percent of the population needs to acquire resistance to the coronavirus to reach herd immunity, when transmission of the virus substantially slows because enough people have been protected through infection or vaccination,” the CDC says.