Author: Caroline Sellers

By Caroline Sellers 

Nov. 30, 2021

Arkansascovid.com

Arkansas public school districts experienced a substantial decline in active COVID-19 cases for the month of November, with only 705 cases reported by the Arkansas Department of Health on Nov. 29. 

The ADH reported an 860 decrease in active cases for the state’s public schools from Oct. 7 to Nov. 29. The report shows that Arkansas’s public schools had 1,565 active cases for both faculty and students on Oct. 7 and 705 active cases for Nov. 29.

The Nov. 29 ADH report also shows an increase in both faculty and student total COVID-19 cases from the month of October to November. The state’s public school districts had a 1,025 increase for total faculty cases from Oct. 7 to Nov. 29, according to the ADH report. The public school districts had a 4,955 increase for total student cases from Oct. 7 to Nov. 29, also according to the report.

Dr. Janice Warren, Assistant Superintendent for Equity and Pupil Services for the Pulaski County Special School District, says that the district follows COVID-19 policies religiously. 

The Pulaski County Special School District currently ranks ninth in terms of cumulative COVID-19 cases for both faculty and students with 459 cases reported by the ADH on Nov. 29.
“Any adult who enters our buildings, whether it is staff, visitors, vendors, they have to answer our online portal which has our COVID questions that ask things like have you been exposed to anybody,” Warren said.

The Pulaski County Special School District requires students to wear masks and tries to maintain 6-foot social distancing whenever possible, Warren said. 

“We do encourage vaccinations for children that are eligible. We have had vaccination clinics in our schools for those students. We have had them at all of our middle schools and all of our high schools, so we highly encourage them,” Warren said. 
Warren also explained that the school district does not require faculty to be vaccinated but they do encourage it and have even put incentives in place. She said that faculty who have been vaccinated will receive a $200 incentive check.

Ouachita School District, a smaller district than the Pulaski County Special School District, also has used preventive measures, according to Dr. Lisa Kissire, the district’s Director of Curriculum and Instruction. 

Dr. Kissire said that Ouachita School District had low active cases last year at both the elementary school and high school. She also explained that the district followed quarantine after exposure, wore masks at all times and maintained 6-foot social distancing when possible.

“Last year we would go to school Monday and Tuesday and then we would skip Wednesday which was a virtual day for us and we would fog the classrooms during that time. We would then go to school Thursday and Friday and fog again Friday afternoon,” Kissire said. “I think those things really helped us.”

Kissire said she believes the district has a low population of eligible children who have been vaccinated.

“We have a high percentage of faculty who have been vaccinated,” Kissire said. “But we are much lower, I would say, in the student population. We tried to do a vaccine clinic, we had one person that signed up.”

She explained that the school district wants to keep children in school if possible. One of the policies implemented to try and drive quarantine numbers down in the district is a four-day school week, according to Kissire. She said that students and faculty go to school Monday through Thursday and the classrooms are fogged Friday.

Another policy that was put in place to drive down quarantine numbers is that if two people are both masked and one person ends up testing positive for COVID-19, that other person does not have to quarantine unless symptoms arise, Kissire explained. She also explained that this policy would be risky if the majority of people in the district quarantining were getting sick, but that is not the case.

“We want to drive down those quarantine numbers and keep them in school and we can do that with masks. We have not gone that route yet but we have sent a letter to parents to say if this continues to be the trend, we are looking at a mask mandate to keep kids in school. Our number one goal is to educate them and to keep them healthy,” Kissire said.

President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats’ push for a 10-year, $3.5 trillion package of social and environmental initiatives has reached a turning point, with the president repeatedly conceding that the measure will be considerably smaller and pivotal lawmakers flashing potential signs of flexibility.

This is my Flourish graphic.

President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats’ push for a 10-year, $3.5 trillion package of social and environmental initiatives has reached a turning point, with the president repeatedly conceding that the measure will be considerably smaller and pivotal lawmakers flashing potential signs of flexibility.

In virtual meetings Monday and Tuesday with small groups of House Democrats, Biden said he reluctantly expected the legislation’s final version to weigh in between $1.9 trillion and $2.3 trillion, a Democrat familiar with the sessions said Tuesday. He told them he didn’t think he could do better than that, the person said, reflecting demands from some of the party’s more conservative lawmakers.

In virtual meetings Monday and Tuesday with small groups of House Democrats, Biden said he reluctantly expected the legislation’s final version to weigh in between $1.9 trillion and $2.3 trillion, a Democrat familiar with the sessions said Tuesday. He told them he didn’t think he could do better than that, the person said, reflecting demands from some of the party’s more conservative lawmakers.

By Caroline Sellers 

Arkansascovid.com 

Rural Prairie County, east of Little Rock, has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the southeastern region of Arkansas, with just 1,374 people fully vaccinated as of April 22, according to the Arkansas Department of Health.

Prairie County, with 8,244 residents, had 889 total positive COVID-19 cases, 21 deaths and currently has one active case, according to ADH data from April 22.

Jennifer Kelly, a pharmacist at Prescription Shop in Hazen, says the pharmacy has vaccinated roughly 2,000 to 2,300 as of last Thursday. The pharmacy is using the Moderna vaccine, according to Kelly.

“It’s been great. We have plenty of doses, it’s just a matter of the people who want it. I think the people who want it have gotten it by now so we actually have plenty of doses,” Kelly said.

Jefferson County had the highest fully vaccinated population in the Southeastern region of the state, which is composed of 14 counties, with 9,624 people fully vaccinated as of April 19, ADH data show.

As for Prairie County’s low vaccination rate, Prescription Shop is the only pharmacy and location in the county administering the COVID-19 vaccine, Kelly said. “It’s been readily available and we do vaccine clinics a couple of times a week so I think it’s just a matter of who wants it and who doesn’t,” she said.

By Caroline Sellers

Arkansascovid.com

Arkansas County will hold a drive-thru mass vaccination clinic on Thursday, April 8 at the Phillips Community College campus in Helena-West Helena.

The clinic will have 200 Johnson & Johnson vaccines available, according to Lisa Roberson, the administrator at the Arkansas County Health Unit- Stuttgart.

“We will start at 9 a.m. that morning and give them until they are gone. It is first come, first serve. We are not doing appointments for the drive-thru,” Roberson said.

Arkansas County, a part of the Southeast region of the state, has fully vaccinated 3,210 people, according to the latest data from the Arkansas Department of Health that was reported on April 5.

“From what I have seen, people are still being really compliant,” Roberson said when asked about if residents in Arkansas County are still wearing masks.

Arkansas County has had 36 deaths, 2,081 total positive cases and currently has 9 active cases according to April 6 data from the ADH. The county currently has an estimated population of 18,124 according to the ADH.

Zack Smith, a pharmacist at Professional Pharmacy in Stuttgart, says that his pharmacy has vaccinated between 500 to 1,000 people as of last week.

“We are a smaller pharmacy so I think we have been in pretty good shape,” Smith said when asked if he thinks his pharmacy has received a good amount of the vaccine.
“Probably the majority of the people that want it in this area have probably gotten it or are scheduled to get it,” Smith said.

By Caroline Sellers

Arkansascovid.com

Arkansas County has currently fully vaccinated 2,776 people making it the third-highest county for full vaccination in the Southeastern region of the state, according to the most recent Arkansas Department of Health data from March 31.

Jefferson County currently leads the Southeastern region, which is composed of 14 counties, with the highest full vaccination count of 6,433. St. Francis County currently comes in second with 3,246 people fully vaccinated.

Arkansas County currently has an estimated population of 18,124. The county has 36 total deaths, 2,077 total positive cases and currently has 10 active cases.

Zack Smith, a pharmacist at Professional Pharmacy in Stuttgart, says that his pharmacy has vaccinated between 500 to 1,000 people. The pharmacy has received only the Moderna vaccine according to Smith.

Stuttgart is located in Arkansas County and has an estimated population of 8,490 according to the latest data from the United States Census Bureau.

“We are a smaller pharmacy so I think we have been in pretty good shape,” Smith said when asked if he thinks his pharmacy has received a good amount of the vaccine.

“Probably the majority of the people that want it in this area have probably gotten it or are scheduled to get it,” Smith said.

This is my WordPress test.

Jefferson County has 48 active COVID-19 cases, the highest number in the Southeast region of the state, according to March 24 data from the Arkansas Department of Health 

The major hospital in the area, the Jefferson Regional Medical Center (JRMC) in Pine Bluff, has seen a slight bump up in cases, with nine COVID-19 patients as of March 23, said Jamie McCombs, the Director of Communications and Public Relations for the hospital.

“A few weeks ago our numbers were down a little bit and they have gone up some since then,” McCombs said. “It’s not anywhere near as high as we were right in the middle of the pandemic but in the last few weeks the number has gone up just a little.” 

St. Francis County follows behind Jefferson County with 19 active cases and Arkansas County is next with 18 active cases, according to March 24 data from the ADH. Jefferson County, home to 70,424 people, overall has reported 8,717 total positive COVID-19 cases and 161 total deaths due to the virus, according to ADH data.

Since the COVID-19 case load dropped significantly, Jefferson Regional Medical Center shifted operations and no longer has an entire floor dedicated to treating patients with the virus. Just part of one floor is assigned for COVID-19 patients, McCombs said.

McCombs said there’s been progress in vaccinating both staff and the public. As of March 18, JRMC has vaccinated 664 employees, according to McCombs.

As of March 22, Jefferson County has vaccinated 10,796 people with the first dose and 5,010 people with the second dose, according to ADH data. 

“When I go into the community, everybody is wearing a mask,” McCombs said. “People are abiding by the guidelines and they are wearing their masks from what I have encountered.”