Vaccines a shot in the arm for a state burdened by COVID-19
December 23, 202010:46 am FIRST TO VOLUNTEER: The first to get the Pfizer vaccine at UAMS was medical assistant Yolanda Emery. Bryan Clifton, UAMS
Along with the Baby Yoda plush dolls, Gravity Blankets and Ninja Air Fryers loaded on UPS and FedEx planes and trucks this Christmas season was the most desired gift of all: COVID-19 vaccines, from manufacturers Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The Pfizer vaccine, shipped in special boxes to keep doses colder than the surface of Mars, was first, arriving in Arkansas on Dec. 14.
Like other coveted presents, however, the vaccines were in short supply, so the government, with input by a panel of health experts and the nod from the governor, chose who’d be first in line: health care professionals and others who attend COVID-19 patients and staff and residents of long-term care facilities.
The COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Arkansas
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Sherian Kwanisai stepped into Arkansas history this week as the first person in the state to be vaccinated for COVID-19, and today I’d like to talk about the significance of this in our nine-month battle against the coronavirus.
Sherian is a 27-year employee of the Arkansas Department of Health. She is director of nursing for the Center for Local Public Health and works with approximately 400 public health nurses spread throughout all 75 counties. She has been in the trenches since COVID-19 arrived in March. She coordinates testing, and she has swabbed a fair number of patients herself.
The immunization program is rapidly gaining momentum. The FDA authorized the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use last weekend. That is the medicine that arrived in Little Rock on Monday. Now, an FDA advisory council has endorsed a second vaccine, which is made by Moderna. When the FDA authorizes it, we will quickly increase the number of people we can vaccinate, and we expect to have the first
While the COVID-19 vaccine has yet to arrive in Pope County, health care workers in Fort Smith and Little Rock were among the first in the state to receive the Pfizer vaccine, which began shipping on Monday.
The state of Arkansas has a Tiered approach to vaccination, with front line healthcare workers first in line, Monica Baxter, employee health and infection control nurse at Saint Maryâs Medical Center in Russellville stated in an email Tuesday.
âSaint Maryâs will be receiving our first allotment Thursday, and will begin vaccinating our staff the same day,â Baxter stated. âOur first allotment is 150 doses, and we expect additional allotments in the future.â
Sunday, Dec. 20
Over the weekend, 100 Arkansans have died from the virus.
Saturday, Dec. 19
The Arkansas Department of Health reports 2,693 new COVID-19 cases and 52 more deaths.
Of the new cases, 1,853 are confirmed and 840 are probable. Of the deaths, 45 are confirmed and seven are probable.
There have been 11,971 PCR tests and 3,205 antigen tests administered within the past 24 hours.
Friday, Dec. 18
The Arkansas Department of Health reports 2,878 new COVID-19 cases and 27 more deaths.
Of the new cases, 1,922 are confirmed and 956 are probable. Of the deaths, 21 are confirmed and six are probable.
There have been 13,816 PCR tests and 5,262 antigen tests administered within the past 24 hours.
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