Big jumps in COVID-19 infection numbers throughout the state. ACHI

The 15 to 25 percent of Arkansans who are both vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 are the only ones with optimum protection as we weather the most dramatic pandemic surge yet, Dr. Joe Thompson said Wednesday.

Director of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, Thompson held a virtual press conference to send up the alert about what he called an “uncontrolled explosion” of new infections, even as schools across the state reopen after holiday break. A record 7,488 new cases were reported in the state today, second only to yesterday’s record of 6,562 new cases.

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Initial data indicates the original round of vaccines does not offer much protection against the omicron variant so prevalent in Arkansas right now at all, Thompson said. You need a booster to protect against bad outcomes like hospitalization and death, he said.

(Luckily for parents, children 12 and over can begin getting their booster shots tomorrow, thanks to a decision expected this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Children 5-12 were cleared for smaller doses of the Pfizer vaccine this fall but are not yet eligible for boosters. Vaccines for children under 5 are still in the testing phase.)

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This past week marks the largest one-week increase since the pandemic reached Arkansas in 2020. The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement keeps tidy and detailed maps of infections rates in the state’s school districts, and the most recent maps put 138 districts in the red and purple categories, meaning they’re logging more than 50 (red) or 100 (purple) cases per 10,000 residents. That 138 number is up from only 28 last week.

And these numbers are likely an undercount, considering that long lines and exhausted supplies of testing kits mean many infected people aren’t being tested. People who get positive results from at-home tests aren’t included in the official numbers unless they self-report to the Arkansas Department of Health.

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Thompson warned that while the flu largely skipped over us last winter because so many people were at home or masked, this year it’s back. And yes, cases of “flurona,” when people suffer dual infections of COVID-19 and influenza at the same time, are being reported in Arkansas.

Thompson put out a plea for school boards and school administrators to do three things: require masks for all grades and all staff immediately; recommit to disciplined handwashing, sanitizing, social distancing and improved ventilation; and make all necessary preparations to be able to pivot to virtual instruction quickly if it becomes necessary.

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People who live in districts where masks aren’t currently required in schools should call your school board members and ask for a policy change, Thompson said.

“Education is critical for kids, but we need to send kids into environments where everything is being done to protect their health and safety,” he said.

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And because the omicron variant is the most infectious yet, you need better masks to protect against transmission. Ditch cloth for N95 or KN95 varieties, he advised. And wear them anytime you’re out and about, since the likelihood is high that someone nearby is actively shedding the omicron virus.

 

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