COVID-19 in Arkansas: Vaccinations dip as active case count continues to creep back up

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Governor Asa Hutchinson says Arkansas may only be days away from the coronavirus millionth-vaccination mark, but active cases in the state continued to slowly climb Friday.

The latest data from the Arkansas Department of Health shows 237 news cases of COVID-19, moving the active case count up to 1,892 and driving the state’s total to 33,186.

The state reported six more deaths in the last day, moving the total to 5,692 in the pandemic. There are currently 152 patients hospitalized with the illness, 15 of whom are on ventilators.

An additional 23,066 vaccination doses were administered in Arkansas, moving the state’s total to over 1.5 million.

Noting that the state is on the cusp of having the number of residents getting a vaccine dose cross into seven digits, Hutchinson still encouraged Arkansas to not wait to get their shot.

“Vaccination numbers were slightly lower yesterday than previous days this week. We have vaccinated over 900,000 Arkansans with at least one shot. My goal is to have one million shots in arms by next week. Help us meet that goal,” the governor said. “The doses are available to meet current demand, so don’t wait, and get your vaccine as soon as you can.”