Gov. Asa Hutchinson appeared Sunday morning on ABC's "This Week" to discuss Arkansas' surge in covid-19 cases and its low vaccination rate -- now 44th in the country.
Hospitalizations in the state are rising and stood at 497 on Friday, according to the latest report from the Department of Health.
The average age of hospitalized patients has dropped by 10 years, from 64 to 54, Hutchinson said. It's the 30- to 54-year-olds who don't have good vaccination rates, he said.
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"We're working very hard to go to that population through the employers, through trusted advisers, such as the clinics, making sure they have the information and overcoming the hesitancy or just the -- simply, we're-putting-it-off approach," he said.
Hutchinson will visit six more cities this week as part of his covid-19 community conversations to discuss concerns and ideas to increase vaccination rates.
Last week, the state saw three straight days of more than 1,000 new cases. Active cases increased by 673 on Friday to 6,605, their highest level since Feb. 18.
Hutchinson described the partisan divide on vaccinations, in response to a question from anchor George Stephanopoulos, as connected to conservatives' natural skepticism about government. According to a new Washington Post poll, 93% of Democrats said they're vaccinated while only 49% of Republicans said they were.
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"And we just have to answer it just like we have all through history, that you overcome skepticism and mistrust by truth," he said. "You overcome resistance and obstinance with saying it's important for our community, and it's important for the health of our state and nation."
The governor stood by the legislation he signed this year to ban local mask mandates, saying they are a disincentive to getting vaccinated. Hutchinson agreed with current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that those who are vaccinated do not need to wear masks.
"We want people to be rewarded and saying: 'Your life is going to be more normal. You're going to be more protected,'" he said.
Hutchinson and Dr. Anthony Fauci, who appeared on the show shortly before Hutchinson, both said vaccination shouldn't be a partisan issue. Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, also said the lack of full authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for the vaccines is contributing to vaccine hesitancy, though he said it's only a technical issue.
"It's the FDA dotting the i's and crossing the t's," Fauci said. "But there's no doubt in my mind that these vaccines are going to get full approval because of the extraordinary amount of positive data."
It's too soon to know if or when Americans will need a booster dose of covid-19 vaccine, Fauci said. He backed up the CDC and FDA pushback last week against drugmaker Pfizer's statement that a booster would be necessary within 12 months.
"That doesn't mean that we're not very, very actively following and gathering all of this information to see if and when we might need it. And if and when we do, we'll have everything in place to do it," he said.