Arkansas' active covid-19 cases dropped by 52, according to the Arkansas Department of Health's daily report Sunday, though 10 more people were hospitalized.
A reported 4,580 people in the state have the virus as of Sunday, 28 fewer than Oct. 31 and 3,955 fewer than the first Sunday of last month (Oct. 3).
Partly making up those active cases are 455 new cases, according the department's Sunday update.
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"We continue to see a lower level of COVID throughout Arkansas today compared [with] the past few months," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in his daily social media post about covid. "Our vaccine efforts are critical to preventing another increase in cases."
The Republican governor also urged Arkansans to find their vaccination locations. He pointed people to the Health Department's website, which offers several pages on vaccine information including a searchable pharmacy list by city, county and business name.
Those in the hospital totaled 290 on Sunday, with 73 on ventilators, four fewer than were on ventilators Saturday.
The department reported that another 14 people died from the virus, bringing the death toll to 8,497 since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Arkansas has had a total of 27,769 hospitalizations, according to Sunday's update.
Around 86.5% of total cases, 88.5% of hospitalizations, and 86.5% of deaths since Feb. 1 were in individuals not fully vaccinated, according to Health Department data.
Across the state, 3,163 additional doses of covid-19 vaccines were administered. Another 1,024 individuals have been fully immunized in Arkansas and 1,284 were partially immunized.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine for children ages 5-11 on Oct. 29, and Arkansas began distributing shots to this population Wednesday.
All local health units have the covid-19 vaccine available for 5-11-year-olds, according to the Health Department's website.
An updated number of those 5-11 years old who have received a shot will not be available until today, Health Department communications director Meg Mirivel said. However, as of Thursday, at least 665 Arkansas children ages 5-11 had received their first Pfizer shots.
Among the population of those 12 years old and up in the state, over 55% are fully vaccinated against covid-19 and at least another 11.4% are partially immunized, according to Health Department data. At least 189,162 individuals have gotten their third, or booster, shot.
Of the current cases, 474 (10.2%) are in those ages 12-18 and 735 (15.9%) are in those 11 years old or younger, according to the latest data on the health department's website. Those ages 35-44 account for the age group with the highest number of active cases at 723, followed by those age 65 and older at 648 cases, and 25-34 at 666 cases.
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