As our state deals with the spread of covid-19 in the midst of a global outbreak, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette will publish five things you need to know each week. You can read our full coverage at nwaonline.com/coronavirus/. Coronavirus coverage pertaining to crucial public health information will be available for all readers.
Here are this week’s five important things to know about the coronavirus.
• Arkansas has recorded 332,949 confirmed and probable cases of covid-19 since the pandemic began, according to data available April 16. State health officials have reported 5,686 covid-19 deaths and 325,369 recoveries. Officials also reported that Arkansas has given 1,478,452 doses of the covid-19 vaccine.
• Gov. Asa Hutchinson said April 13 that the state will follow a federal recommendation to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine after reports that six women developed rare blood clots after receiving the shots. This resulted in several planned vaccination clinics being canceled early in the week, while others replaced the planned one-shot dose with Moderna or Pfizer vaccines. Hutchinson encouraged Arkansans to continue getting the two available vaccines.
• Public health officials say in recent weeks they have noticed a worrying trend of people not showing up for their second doses. About 12 or 13% of people who have gotten either a Moderna or Pfizer vaccine have not returned for their second shots, state epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Dillaha said.
• The proportion of Arkansans who have received at least one covid-19 vaccine dose topped 30% on April 9 – the first day since November that the state did not report any new covid-19 deaths. Later in the week, vaccinations showed signs of slowing following the announcement of a pause on use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
• The Arkansas Department of Health has identified several covid-19 variants in the state over the past week, including the more-transmissible variant from Brazil, which was identified in Arkansas for the first time April 9.