LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas has seen its coronavirus cases increase by more than 1,000 for the second day in a row, along with another spike in hospitalizations and deaths.
The Arkansas Department of Health reported 1,210 new virus cases Thursday. The state’s COVID-19 hospitalizations rose by 49 to 481, and deaths increased by 11 to 5,944.
Arkansas ranks second in the country for new cases per capita over the past two weeks, according to numbers compiled by Johns Hopkins University researchers.
Only about 35 percent of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The AP says Gov. Asa Hutchinson is taking over the National Governors Association as the state struggles with the resurgence in coronavirus cases and lagging vaccinations.
The Republican governor on Thursday was elected as the group’s chairman. He’s moving into the role when the delta variant of the virus is causing a resurgence in red states like Arkansas.
In taking the NGA reins from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Hutchinson said one of his priorities will be to combat vaccine hesitancy.
In other COVID-19 developments, Pfizer says it is about to seek U.S. authorization for a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine, but U.S. health officials say a booster isn’t needed yet.
The company said Thursday that another shot could dramatically boost immunity and maybe help ward off the latest worrisome coronavirus mutant. Pfizer says early data from a company trial suggests people’s antibody levels jump after they get a third dose.
But the filing doesn’t mean third doses would be rolled out any time soon. Public health officials would have to decide if they’re really needed. And U.S. health officials followed Pfizer’s announcement with a statement saying they want to see more data before authorizing booster shots.
This comes after Thursday’s news from the AP that reported new research from France adds to evidence that widely used COVID-19 vaccines still offer strong protection against the coronavirus mutant that now accounts for most U.S. infections.
The delta variant is surging through populations with low vaccination rates. Researchers from France’s Pasteur Institute reported the new evidence in the journal Nature that full vaccination is critical.
In laboratory tests, a single dose of the two-dose Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines “barely inhibited” the delta variant. But after a second dose just about everyone experienced a big boost in immunity. (For more info on this, click here.)
For Arkansas county data from the Department of Health, click here.
The ADH urges Arkansans to get fully vaccinated. For more information from the ADH regarding COVID-19 vaccinations, click here.
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