The message preached by state and federal authorities is the same it has been for months: Get vaccinated to protect yourself, your family and others in this ongoing pandemic.
Can those who haven't been vaccinated be convinced?
The highly transmissible omicron variant of covid-19, projected by some to reach 1 million cases a day in the U.S. soon, could prove persuasive.
The magnitude of cases, even if they may be milder, threatens an already-strained health care system nationwide and could cause disruptions in the workforce and in many other aspects of American life.
As this expected record-breaking surge of omicron cases is beginning, many millions of U.S. residents remain unvaccinated or are not yet boosted -- and are highly vulnerable.
The first appeals to Americans to get vaccinated came when the vaccines were new and covid-19 itself was passing among us in an earlier strain. Reluctance was perhaps more understandable.
Still, as soon as vaccines were available to them, many of the more vulnerable raced to get the shots, seeking the promised protection against the worst the virus could bring.
While there would be "breakthrough" cases among the vaccinated, they might avoid hospitalization or escape death. The vaccines were proving themselves to be effective.
Nevertheless, resistance to the shots continued from some quarters -- at least some of it politically inspired.
Whatever the reason, much of that resistance hardened even as the virus evolved with the delta variant, which continues to send victims to hospitals and to their graves.
Medical authorities say over and again that the people filling those hospital beds are mostly unvaccinated, a lot of whom regret refusing to get the shots.
And now, there is widespread concern again as yet another strain of the virus, this omicron variant, is sweeping through the population.
Those who are vaccinated as well as those who are not are being warned to resume protective steps -- including wearing face coverings, washing their hands frequently and keeping their distance from others in public spaces.
Some doctors are predicting this variant, because of how easily and quickly it spreads, could infect us all eventually. How we fare could depend on our vaccination status.
Underlying health conditions matter, too, but vaccination is a difference maker.
Those who are fully vaccinated and have gotten the follow-up booster shots may experience milder cases, maybe even asymptomatic responses to the virus.
The unvaccinated on the other hand are warned they could get quite ill, find themselves in a hospital bed, perhaps on a ventilator, their lives threatened.
Last week, Gov. Asa Hutchinson repeated his continuing appeal for Arkansans to get vaccinated and boosted.
With 49 percent of the state's population not fully vaccinated, Arkansas falls among the bottom 10 states in the percentage of its population protected from the virus.
"That's a lot of room for omicron to work," Hutchinson said at a Tuesday media briefing.
He reported that 62 percent of residents have had one dose of vaccine, 51 percent are fully vaccinated and only 14 percent have gotten a booster dose.
The state needs to increase vaccinations and booster shots "so that, come January, we don't run into a hospital shortage, staffing shortages," he said.
Estimates released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate omicron accounted for more than 73 percent of U.S. cases last week.
In a five-state region that includes Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico, the CDC says omicron is responsible for 92 percent of the region's new cases.
Arkansas had only a couple of confirmed omicron cases last week, but by Monday dozens of cases had been officially recorded.
Hutchinson expects the variant "will define our prevention efforts for the coming months."
A lot is unknown but some states are experiencing increased hospitalizations because of the sheer volume of cases caused by omicron's rapid spread, he said.
In Arkansas, about 500 are hospitalized now, which is fewer than half as many as last year, when Arkansas' beds were stretched to the limit, he said.
The situation could change dramatically by January or February.
Clearly concerned about the predicted surge, Hutchinson said the state is preparing to provide more hospital beds. That's an expensive proposition but may be necessary to take care of those who will get infected.
With the delta variant still at work and omicron in its early stages in Arkansas, the state reports, since Feb. 1, that 87.2 percent of hospitalizations and 85.3 percent of covid-related deaths were among the unvaccinated.
That's a hard fact that Arkansans ought to understand.
"We know the vaccines are effective even against this variant. They prevent serious consequences in most cases and vastly reduce hospitalizations," Hutchinson said, again touting the success of the vaccines.
"People see facts and it's hard to deny what we're seeing," said the governor, appealing yet again for more Arkansans to get their shots before omicron gets to them.