Category: Student_Work

Typing from the confines of a cat on my lap and another sitting upon my feet.

This is a screengrab from a video of Pumpkin dramatically yawning, thus the poor quality. Nonetheless, it makes me laugh!

The great Dekarius Dawson!

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.

There has been lots of progress made in schools from the height of the pandemic in December, and lots more to come with vaccinations and warmer weather.

As shown by data from the ADH, the Rector and Marked Tree districts are currently leading Arkansas’ school districts for the highest percent of people who have gotten COVID in the state, at 16.25% and 15.27% respectively. In addition to this, the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville has the highest number of active cases out of all of Arkansas’ colleges and college campuses. However, Fayetteville Public Schools has one of the lowest percentages of people who have gotten COVID in the state, at only 0.84%.

Alan Wilbourn, the Public Information Officer at Fayetteville Public Schools, spoke on the measures the schools have taken and how effective they have been. The first measures the schools implemented had actually been in place before COVID, as best practices for flu season. One example of this is how they already had backpack disinfectant units ready. The schools had also already been transitioning to a system where each student has their own laptop they are able to bring home with them. This meant that virtual learning was much easier to put in place. While not everyone has suitable internet, it was still a significantly smoother switch because of that.

They have had a mask mandate in place all of this school year, requiring students and staff to wear masks at all times except when eating lunch. According to Wilbourn, even the elementary schools have done a good job of wearing masks. He says that making a routine out of it helped: “This would be where you wear your mask, you wash your hands, and go get some hand sanitizer. And [the elementary school students]  really bought into that”.

In the future, Wilbourn says there may be masks in the fall, and that the schools will evaluate performance over the rest of the year to make that call. He also says that “I think…  something we can count on for the next few years is that in addition to getting your flu shot every year, you’ll get your COVID shot every year”.

Springdale is another school district that has been doing well. Their Director of Communications, Trent Jones, spoke on this. Similarly to Fayetteville schools, they require that in most situations masks be worn when indoors. However, they say on their website that “staff and presenters may remove face coverings while teaching if 12 feet distancing is maintained”.

Springdale has been doing tests on-location at their schools and has also run three vaccination clinics for staff (they happened before minors were eligible to receive the vaccine). According to Jones, while they don’t have plans for conducting more vaccine drives, what they’re doing is “providing information for… our 16 year olds and older and any faculty or staff that might not have been vaccinated yet”.

By Ravi Brock
Arkansascovid.com

A Little Rock church is holding a mass vaccination clinic next week and is urging members of the Hispanic community to attend.

The Longley Baptist Church in southwest Little Rock is planning a mass vaccination event on April 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event hopes to attract 500 people.

COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed closely, said Brenda Stallings, one of the main organizers. “Everybody will be double-masked. Everybody working will be double-masked. Everybody who comes into the church will be double-masked,” she said. All staff will also change gloves and disinfect their station after administering each dose.

The church is trying to reach the Spanish-speaking public through a combination of social media, radio announcements and old-fashioned word of mouth.  The Robert Tellez Law Firm and another church primarily for Hispanic people will be working on the outreach. Translators will be at the clinic.

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.