FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – More than 20% of Arkansans have been fully vaccinated from the coronavirus as of Thursday, even as the state reported the biggest one-day rise in cases in three weeks.
Meanwhile, the number of cases that were considered active rose above 1,800 for the first time since March 28.
The state’s count of coronavirus cases rose by 283 on Thursday, the largest one-day rise in three weeks.
On Tuesday, the state followed a federal recommendation to pause on the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after reports that six women developed rare blood clots after receiving the shots.
Immunizations have continued using the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, however.
“Even with the pause on the J&J vaccine, we were able to pivot and vaccinate over 25,000 Arkansans yesterday,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement. “When the new COVID-19 cases go up, it is a reminder we must get our shot in the arm.”
The number of people hospitalized in the state with covid-19 rose by two, to 153, the second consecutive daily increase.
The state’s death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Arkansas Department of Health, rose by six, to 5,686.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of Arkansans who are fully vaccinated, meaning they received one dose of Johnson & Johnson or two doses of Pfizer or Moderna, rose by 15,925, to 606,113, or about 20.1% of the state’s population.
The number who had received at least one vaccine dose rose by 12,785, to 978,137, or about 32.4% of the population. That number includes the 606,113 who are fully vaccinated.
Among the states and District of Columbia, Arkansas continued to rank 43rd in the percentage of its residents who had received at least one vaccine dose and 47th in the percentage who had been fully vaccinated.
Thursday’s increase in cases was the largest since March 25, also a Thursday, when the number rose by 334.
After falling Wednesday, the average number of cases added to the state’s tallies over a rolling seven-day period rose by 12, to 178, its highest level since March 29.
With new cases outpacing recoveries, the number of cases that were considered active rose by 128, to 1,843, its highest level since March 28.
After rising for the previous two days, however, the number of the state’s virus patients who were on ventilators fell by two, to 18.
The number of covid-19 patients who were in intensive care as of 2 p.m. rose by one, to 58.
More details in Friday’s Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
