Vaccination rate showing signs of improvement

Centers for Disease Control reports 177 new cases in region over week

More people in this region of the state appear to be getting Covid vaccinations, according to the Centers of Disease Control which reports the vaccination rate in St. Francis and bordering counties is slowing increasing.

The CDC shows the vaccination rate is increasing in tenths of percentage points across the seven-county region.

In St. Francis County, where 106 new cases of the virus have been reported this month, 37.5% of the county’s eligible population has been vaccinated. According to the CDC, this figure is one-tenth of a percentage higher than the last report.

In Lee County, the CDC reports 27.9% of the population has been vaccinated, which is also an increase of one-tenth of a percentage. The Arkansas Department of Health has reported 40 new cases of the virus in that county this month.

The vaccination rates in Cross, Monroe and Phillips counties has increased by three-tenths of a percentage. Those three counties combined have seen an increase of 221 Covid cases this month, according to the ADH.

Crittenden and Woodruff counties, the only counties in this area where the CDC does not report the community transmission level as being high, have seen vaccination rates increase by two-tenths of a percentage. The ADH reports 110 new case of the virus this month in those two counties. In Woodruff County, the transmission level is moderate, and in Crittenden County, the CDC reports it as being substantial.

The ADH report shows that since the beginning of July, this region has seen 477 additional people diagnosed with Covid. The CDC shows that 177 new cases have been diagnosed over the past seven days.

Today’s ADH report also shows that no additional deaths have been reported in this region since earlier this week.

Brodie Johnson • Times-Herald A Covid-19 vaccination clinic is being held today at the Forrest City Civic Center until 3 p.m. Several people stopped by the clinic for shots this morning, including a bus full of student athletes from the Forrest City School District who showed up to receive a dose of either the Pfizer or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Student Kay'miayha Millbrooks receives her shot from St. Francis County Health Unit Administrator Kathy Barron.