Arkansas' count of coronavirus cases rose Wednesday by 352 -- the biggest one-day increase since March 16 and the first one this month that topped 300.
After rising for the previous four days, the number of people hospitalized in the state with covid-19 fell by two, to 175.
The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the state Department of Health, rose by two, to 5,708.
"The increase in new cases from today's report is a serious reminder of the importance to get vaccinated," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement.
"It is also a reminder that the virus is still here along with the more contagious variants. Our best defense is the vaccine. We have plenty of doses available, so if you're 16 and older, schedule your appointment today."
The Health Department reported that the number of vaccine doses that had been administered in the state rose by 20,706, which was more than 5,000 doses fewer than it reported the previous Wednesday.
The average number of doses administered each day over a rolling seven-day period fell for the second straight day to just over 18,000, the lowest level since March 24.
Those figures include second doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines' two-dose regimens.
State Epidemiologist Jennifer Dillaha said the increase in cases, along with the number of covid-19 patients in the state's hospitals, was "worrisome."
"We've been watching the positivity rates creep up," Dillaha said, referring to the percentage of covid-19 tests that are positive, "and that raised our concerns about increased transmission.
"This seems to indicate that we may be on an upward trend of new cases."
During the seven-day span ending Tuesday, 3.5% of the state's polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests and antigen tests were positive, Dillaha said.
That was well below Hutchinson's target of 10% but up from a low of about 2.5% during the week that ended March 29, Dillaha said.
The percentage tends to increase from what's initially reported as more test results come in.
"I think we are having an increase in spread in Arkansas, and I'm concerned that it is at least partially driven by an increase in the circulation of the variants of concern, particularly the variant out of the United Kingdom," Dillaha said.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Kingdom variant is the most common strain of the virus circulating in the United States, accounting for an estimated 44.7% of cases in a two-week span ending March 27.
A total of 17 cases in Arkansas have been identified as having been caused by the variant, which is thought to be more lethal as well as more transmissible than the original strain.
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The total number of cases caused by the variant in Arkansas isn't known, however, because only a small percentage of specimens are tested for that.
Dillaha said it's "entirely possible" that the state's new infections will continue trending upward, which she said raises the urgency of the vaccination efforts.
"We know that these vaccines that are available to us do protect against these variants of concern, so it would be beneficial to people to get vaccinated," she said.
It's concerning that the vaccinations have recently been slowing, Dillaha said.
"I think that we're getting to the point where many of the people who have intended to get vaccinated are getting vaccinated," she said.
"There's others that haven't decided yet whether or not they will be vaccinated. Hopefully they will, and we'll keep offering vaccine so they have that opportunity when they decide.
"Then there are some people who have made the decision not to get vaccinated. Of course we're hoping they will change their minds as they learn more about vaccines and the illness."
She said she worries about people "deciding not to get vaccinated based on wrong information or misunderstanding the information that they get."
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"I don't want people to have regret for choosing not to get vaccinated, then later on becoming very ill," Dillaha said.
People who develop only mild illness can also have long-term health complications such as fatigue, impaired cognition and lung damage, she added.
She said even people who have been vaccinated should continue to take precautions against catching or spreading the virus, particularly when around people who haven't been vaccinated.
Wednesday's increase in total cases was larger by more than 100 than both the one a day earlier and the one the previous Wednesday, April 14.
After falling for the previous three days, the average number of cases added to the state's tallies over a rolling seven-day period rose Wednesday by almost 19, to 199, its highest level since March 26.
The number of the state's virus patients who were on ventilators remained at 24.
The number of covid-19 patients who were in intensive care as of 2 p.m. rose by four, to 66.
CLINICS CANCELED
In one sign of waning demand for the vaccines, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences on Wednesday canceled a vaccination clinic that its mobile health unit had been scheduled to hold today in Camden because of a lack of people who had signed up to receive the shots.
UAMS spokeswoman Leslie Taylor said another clinic that had been scheduled for April 15 in Helena-West Helena was postponed for the same reason.
She said the unit did administer 150 Pfizer doses on Wednesday at a clinic at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro and also held a second-dose clinic at the Conway Housing Authority.
She said the unit is also expecting to administer about 200 doses each at clinics that are scheduled for Monday at the state Martin Luther King Jr. Commission in Little Rock and on Tuesday in Fouke.
The university's 12th Street vaccine clinic in Little Rock, which can administer about 600 doses a day, including second doses, had been averaging 481 a day this week as of Wednesday.
Its Northwest Arkansas campus, which can administer 200 shots a day, has been averaging about 76 a day, Taylor said.
At West Side Pharmacy in Benton, owner Blake Torres said he can administer about 200 initial doses of Pfizer a day, but he has only been giving about half or "maybe a third" that many.
The pharmacy is still requiring appointments but is preparing to allow walk-ins, likely starting next month, to "eliminate as many barriers as possible," he said.
He said the store is also working with churches and other organizations to hold small clinics in poor and rural areas.
One pharmacist has also been traveling after she finishes work at the store to vaccinate people in their homes, he said.
"Even if we market large clinics, we don't get the uptake that we did, say, two months ago, but we are finding pockets of people that really want the vaccine that for whatever reason haven't been able to get it," Torres said.
De Queen Health and Wellness Pharmacy stopped requiring appointments for the shots about three weeks ago, pharmacist Elee Coleman said.
"We have plenty of supply," said Coleman, whose father, Chester Barber, owns the pharmacy. "The demand is decreasing."
To combat misinformation, she said, the pharmacy has been posting information from the CDC on its Facebook page.
It's also planning to offer vaccinations at a booth at the University of Arkansas-Cossatot's Fiesta Fest on May 1 and at a clinic at St. Barbara Church, which holds services in Spanish and English, on May 16.
"Everybody that comes in the pharmacy, my dad tries to convince them to get a covid shot and tells them it's OK," Coleman said.
According to the CDC, the number of Arkansans who had received at least one vaccine dose rose Wednesday by 8,484, to 1,024,343, representing about 33.9% of the state's population.
The number who had been fully vaccinated rose by 11,896, to 670,829, or about 22.2% of the population.
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 46th in the percentage who had been fully vaccinated.
Nationally, 40.5% of people had received at least one dose and 26.4% had been fully vaccinated.
ACTIVE CASES RISE
The cases that were added to the state's tallies included 198 that were confirmed through PCR tests.
The other 154 were "probable" cases, which include those identified through less-sensitive antigen tests.
The cumulative count of state cases rose to 334,061.
That comprised 261,802 confirmed cases and 72,259 probable ones.
The number of cases that were considered active rose by 139, to 1,943, as new cases outpaced recoveries.
Washington County had the most new cases, 44, followed by Benton County, which had 43, and Pulaski County, which had 39.
Neither the Health Department nor the Department of Corrections reported any new cases among prison or jail inmates.
The state's death toll rose by two, to 4,532, among confirmed cases and remained at 1,176 among probable cases.
Among nursing home and assisted-living facility residents, the count of virus deaths remained at 2,071.
The number of people who have ever been hospitalized in the state with covid-19 grew by 18, to 15,711.
The number of the state's virus patients who have ever been on a ventilator rose by four, to 1,608.