UAMS reports zero Covid-19 patients in Little Rock

Little Rock, Arkansas — According to The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, there are zero patients positive for Covid-19, but doctors still warn of the BA.2 variant that is emerging in the United States.

“The hospital is staying busy, but it’s nice to not have that Covid surge on top of the other things that happen,” said internal medicine chief Dr. Robert Hopkins. Besides active cases and hospitalizations are on the decline, Hopkins hopes Arkansans don’t let their guard down, adding, “That raises concern if we back off too much on our protective behaviors, and we’ve got a relatively low vaccination rate in Arkansas. That puts us in a position where we may be putting ourselves at risk.”

According to the CDC, about half of the U.S. cases are the new variant, something Hopkins says we don’t yet know much about. “It’s yet to be determined how well-protected people are from this variant from prior infection, so I think we need to be a bit cautious,” he said. Hopkins hopes the vaccination rate in Arkansas will increase, especially for those immunocompromised or 50 and older who are now approved for a second booster dose.

But, it may not stay like this in the long term, Hopkins said. “I think that we’re going to reach a point where we’re not going to have this series of changes in the recommendation, but people have to recognize when we’re changing recommendations, a lot of that boils down to new knowledge,” he said.

Four months after the last dose, a second booster dose of Pfizer or Moderna is recommended.