LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Amid increases in new COVID-19 cases in Arkansas, the governor says that the overwhelming majority of those hospitalized with the virus have not been vaccinated.
“These vaccines are effective, but we need more Arkansans to get the shot,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Friday on Twitter.
The Arkansas Health Department on Friday reported 302 new confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus and three additional deaths.
Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases in Arkansas has increased by 97.1, an increase of about 51%, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University. They say the state rates fifth in the country for new cases per capita.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 42% of Arkansans have received their first dose of the vaccine, and about 34% of the population has completed their vaccination.
Th state health department said Friday on Twitter that it will no longer publish COVID-19 data on weekends. The department said those numbers would now be available on Mondays.
Arkansas in late March opened its vaccinations to everyone at least 16 years old and lifted its statewide mask mandate, but the state has had one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country.
