While touting the state's coronavirus vaccination effort, Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday said the state needs to make more progress in getting the shots to residents age 70 and older before it can make them available to additional population groups, which he hopes to do by March 1.
"We have to get further into the 70-plus population," Hutchinson said. "Right now there's too much of a waiting list, there’s a greater need there, and so we want to get deeper into that population before we move into additional segments."
Hutchinson spoke as the state's count of covid-19 cases grew by 1,475, an increase that was bigger than the one the day before but down by 35 cases from the number that were added to the state's tallies the previous Tuesday, Feb. 2.
The number of people hospitalized in the state with the virus fell for the second day in a row, dropping by two, to 775, but remained up from the 750 patients who were hospitalized as of Saturday.
After rising by 16 on Monday, the number of patients who were on ventilators fell by five, to 137.
The state's death toll from the virus, as tracked by the Department of Health, rose by 42, to 5,148.
At his weekly news conference on the pandemic, Hutchinson said 12.8% of Arkansans have had at least one dose of the vaccine and that about half of the state's school employees have had access to the shots.
All of the state's long term care facilities have had at least one clinic, he said.
Under Phase 1-A of the state's vaccination effort that began in December, health care workers, first responders and residents and workers at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities were the first to become eligible for shots.
The state began making the shots available to Arkansans age 70 and older and employees of schools, including higher education institutions, and child care centers, all of whom fall into Phase 1-B of the state's plan, last month.
"Essential priority workers," including those working in grocery stores and factories, also fall into Phase 1-B but are not eligible for the shots.
"I do believe that by March 1, we will be able to make additional steps into 1-B, but we’re going to be monitoring it between now and then to see if that needs to be adjusted in any way," Hutchinson said Tuesday.
Hutchinson also said that 11,600 doses of vaccine will be available at 58 Walmart stores across the state on Friday as part of a federal program.
Those doses are in addition to the state's regular allocation of 45,325 vaccine doses being distributed to pharmacies, hospitals and other providers for the initial shots of the two-dose regimens.
He also said 1 million doses will be distributed nationally to federally funded community health centers across the country but that he didn't yet have details on how many doses Arkansas' 12 centers will get.
Potentially further increasing the supply of available doses, Hutchinson also said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to issue guidance allowing vaccine originally designated to provide booster shots to be used to provide initial doses for other people when the originally intended recipients fail to show up for appointments to receive the second dose.
Meanwhile, the CDC indicated that Arkansas' weekly allocation of vaccine will increase next week for the third week in a row.
After increasing by 16% last week and 5% this week, the state's allocation will increase next week by an additional 4.6%, to 47,425 doses, according to the CDC.
EARLIER
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and state health officials will provide an update on Arkansas' covid-19 response at 1:30 p.m.
The total number of coronavirus cases reported in Arkansas was at 307,373 Tuesday morning, according to a state website. The death toll remained at 5,106.
Check back to watch the live video.
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