I’d mentioned this earlier, but it deserves singular attention:

Arkansas Children’s experienced a record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations today with 24 patients who are positive for COVID-19. This record high is a 50 percent increase over any previous daily hospitalization peak Arkansas Children’s has faced during the pandemic. Our previous peaks occurred earlier this month and in January.

Of the 24 patients admitted, 7 are in intensive care and 4 are on ventilators. None of the hospitalized patients have been fully immunized against COVID-19 even though more than half of them are eligible.

Arkansas Children’s appeals to families and the public to please vaccinate children who are eligible immediately. We will continue to see more kids get sick quickly and the best ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19 are by taking the vaccine, masking and social distancing.

The Arkansas legislature talks a lot about family values, particularly the Republicans. Few of them have spoken forcefully in support of vaccinations. Several refuse to say if they’ve gotten shots. They reject masking. They are accomplices to the sickness and death of children. Is this a family value? To Trent Garner and many others, a family value is freeing the heedless to harm others.

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