Author: Emma Dannenfelser

By Emma Dannenfelser
Arkansascovid.com

The University of Arkansas- Fort Smith is planning on a fully in-person fall semester now that the state is offering a COVID-19 vaccine to anyone over age 16. 

University of Arkansas- Fort Smith has nearly 7,000 students and has about four active COVID-19 cases on campus.  

Dave Stevens, Dean of Students and Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Enrollment,  said the majority of the school’s classes are currently online only. However, Stevens said in a phone interview that enrollment has been down slightly since the start of the pandemic and that students have become exhausted by online education.  

“We may have to pivot and change our plans in regard to COVID,” Stevens said, “But if things continue to improve the way they have been improving we are hopeful students will want to return to our campus and participate”.

The university recently hosted a drive-through vaccine clinic at the Stubblefield Center and administered a total of 448 doses to students, alumni and community members.  

The transition to online education has undeniably been difficult for educators as well.  Julie Wright, an assistant professor of Accounting, said she was forced to learn large amounts of new and difficult technology quickly.  

“It was like drinking water out of a fire hydrant,” Wright said in a phone interview.  

According to Rachel Putman, the associate director of Strategic Communications, the university will continue to require students to wear masks on campus through the end of the spring semester, despite Governor Hutchinson ending the statewide mandate in March.  

“Following the end of the semester, the university will evaluate the status of vaccinations, case numbers on campus and case numbers and hospitalizations in the region, and consult with the Arkansas Department of Health and the CDC to determine if masks continue to be necessary for the health and safety of our students,” Putman said in an email interview.  

On Tuesday, March 30, Mayor Greg Hines Announced that Rogers will be keeping their mask ordinance as long as the statewide emergency order is set in place, despite Governor Hutchinson ending the statewide mask mandate this week.  

According to a city press release, Mayor Hines made the decision in order to allow more people to get fully vaccinated before removing the ordinance.  

According to Andrew Mize, owner of Debbie’s Family Pharmacy in Rogers, the immunization efforts in Rogers have been going smoothly.  Mize said that the only hitch was finding a way to schedule so many appointments, since many pharmacists have never experienced such a massive rush for vaccines before.  

The first week of the vaccine rollout was the hardest, Mize said in a phone interview. Since there was no scheduling system in place, nearly 9,000 vaccination appointments were made the first day they opened, even though each pharmacy is only allocated roughly 120 doses each week.  

Because of this, Debbie’s family Pharmacy switched to a mass clinic approach instead of individual appointments in order to make scheduling easier for anyone who wants to receive the vaccine.  One day per week is chosen and all of the doses are administered during the clinic.  

Mize said Debbie’s Family Pharmacy has been giving all of their doses each week, although some larger pharmacies have been seeing a lull in vaccine appointments being made.  

According to Mize, learning to operate such a massive effort has made pharmacists across Northwest Arkansas put their heads together to brainstorm new and innovative ideas, as well as learn how to adapt.  

“I think the city of Rogers is in a tough position, I think they’re making the best decision they could with the information they have but people should just be patient.  The more vaccines we can administer the safer our community will be,” Mize said.  

Steve Cox, Senior Vice President of Economic Development at the Chamber of Commerce, said that the mask ordinance has not negatively affected business and that the city has seen record sales tax collection, almost record employment numbers and a booming real estate market.  

“I feel like public health is not something to take lightly and we know the decision was not made in a vacuum. We all  want to make sure that we’re being cautious,” Cox said in a phone interview.

Cox said the city is specifically eager for more tourism, events and conventions to return to Rogers in the coming months.  

“In any major economic event there are going to be challenges,” Cox said, “Rogers has shown a very resilient spirit and our community rose up and met those challenges, now we are ready to get going and back to business,”