Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Region sees 25% increase in booster shots
Benton, Washington, Crawford and Sebastian counties have seen a combined 25.6% increase in the number of fully immunized people who have received a covid-19 booster vaccination since Nov. 12.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson opened the booster shots to all adults Nov. 15.
A total of 57,360 people in the four-county area had received a booster shot as of Wednesday, the most recent data available. The number was up from 45,673 the Friday before Hutchinson made the announcement, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.
The state as a whole has seen a 26.3% increase in the number of people who have received a booster shot, from 219,642 booster shots to 277,443 in a little less than two weeks.
Hutchinson announced the state would make booster shots available to all adults over the age of 18 who had their last dose of Pfizer or Moderna covid-19 vaccine more than six months ago or who had their Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than two months ago. Those who are eligible may receive whichever brand of vaccine they choose, no matter which immunization they originally had, according to the Health Department.
The state had limited boosters to people 65 and older, residents of long-term care facilities, people with health conditions putting them at risk of serious complications from covid-19 and people at heightened risk of catching the virus because of their jobs or living situations.
Covid-19 vaccines work by creating something like the FBI’s most wanted posters of the virus for the immune system, said Dr. Joe
Thompson, president and CEO of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement. A booster shot gives people another chance to show their immune system the wanted poster, he said.
The covid-19 virus is dozens or hundreds of times more likely to cause harm than the vaccine or booster, Thompson said. The most common side effect of the booster is soreness in the lymph nodes, showing the immunization is working, he said. In comparison, one out of every three or four people who get the virus have some symptoms for months afterward, he said.
“This is not a virus you want to get infected with if you can avoid it,” he said.
People who have already had covid still need to get the vaccine, or get the booster shot when they are eligible if they are already vaccinated, because the evidence is growing and strong that the vaccine provides far more immunity than catching the virus, Thompson said.
While breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people don’t tend to result in hospitalization or death, they can still cause the virus to spread to others, said Dr. Marti Sharkey, Fayetteville public health officer and pediatrician. Getting a booster shot when eligible is a way for people to keep themselves and the community healthy, she said.
CHILDREN’S VACCINE
Since the Pfizer vaccine for children age 5 to 11 was federally approved at the beginning of the month, 20,971 doses had been administered in Arkansas as of Wednesday, said Danyelle McNeill, Health Department public information officer. Numbers by county are not yet available, she said.
Sharkey said there has been good turnout at Fayetteville Public Schools vaccination clinics. Kids tend to experience fewer side effects than adults do because of the smaller dose, though she noted not many children have received a second dose yet. Most adults see more of a reaction, such as soreness and fatigue, after their second dose, she said.
Thompson said he understands parents’ concerns and fears about the vaccine, which is part of the reason the U. S. Food and Drug Administration asked manufacturers to do additional tests on the vaccine before releasing it.
The delta variant is more likely than the previous strain to infect kids, and though kids generally are not as severely affected as adults, they can carry the virus home to family members who have higher risks, he said.
While children are at less risk for bad outcomes from the virus, covid- 19 has claimed the lives of five teenagers in Arkansas, Thompson said.
“The risk is real,” he said. Three people age 17 or younger have died of the virus in the state and 21 people ages 18-24 have died, according to the Department of Health.
UPTICK IN CASES
There’s been an increasing number of cases at the local, state and national level, Thompson said. The primary virus circulating is the delta variant and it’s going to continue to infect unprotected individuals, he said.
There are still many kids and adults who are completely unprotected and their immune systems have never seen the virus, Thompson said. As the weather cools and people begin to spend more time inside, the likelihood of coming in contact with an infected person will increase, he said.
There is now evidence to support masking in schools, Thompson said.
It’s also especially important to get the flu vaccine this year, he said.
The good news is between 40 and 50% of eligible Arkansans have been vaccinated and have some protection, Thompson said. Adults are now eligible for booster shots and kids age 5 and older can now be protected, he said.
“We may have a surge but we hope it is not as harmful as last winter,” he said. “But those who are not protected are still at risk.”
On Wednesday ,45 covid-19 patients were hospitalized in the region, up slightly from 41 on Nov. 19, according to the Northwest Arkansas Council. The alltime high was 173 patients Aug. 11.
The youngest person hospitalized on Wednesday was 23, the oldest was 91 and the average age was 47, the council stated.
There were 94 intensive care unit beds and 31 ventilators in use in Northwest Arkansas on Wednesday, including patients with covid-18 and other medical needs. On Nov. 19, there were 98 ICU beds and 28 ventilators in use.
Statewide, 334 patients were hospitalized with the virus Friday, up from 316 last week, according to the Health Department.
In the River Valley, Baptist Health Fort Smith had 27 hospitalized covid- 19 patients on Friday, up from 23 last week, including 11 in covid critical care units and four on ventilators, according to spokeswoman Alicia Agent.
Mercy Fort Smith had 15 hospitalized covid-19 patients on Wednesday, including four in ICU, said spokeswoman Mardi Taylor. The number was down from Nov. 19, when the hospital had 20 covid-19 patients.
Benton County reported 76 new cases on Wednesday, Washington County reported 42, Sebastian County reported 28 and Crawford County reported 14, McNeill said. In comparison, Benton County reported 65 new cases on Nov. 19, Washington County reported 52, Sebastian County reported 32 and Crawford County reported nine.
As of Wednesday, the four- county area saw two new deaths since Nov. 19 for a total of 1,693, according to the department.