AR Governor and First Lady Get COVID Booster Shot During Press Conference

The Governor and First Lady received their third dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine on Tuesday

Governor Asa Hutchinson and the First Lady, Susan Hutchinson, both received their COVID-19 Pfizer Booster shot during the governor’s weekly livestreamed press conference. Also receiving the shot was Arkansas Secretary of Health, Dr. Jose Romero.

The governor then proceeded with his press conference and gave the criteria for a COVID booster shot as recommended by the CDC which encourages anyone 65 years or older, anyone 18 years or older in a long-term care setting, or those 50 to 64 years old with certain underlying conditions to get the shot six months after their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Other people who are eligible for the booster shot include those 18 to 49 with certain underlying medical conditions or those 18 to 64 at high risk of COVID-19 exposure or transmission because of an occupational or institutional setting.

Arkansas reported 9,431 doses of vaccine given since Monday and brings the total number of people fully immunized against COVID-19 to 1,330,933, an increase of 3,232 from day before. Hutchinson said that of those vaccines given in the previous 24 hours roughly one third of them were booster shots.

Hutchinson also made a new announcement regarding quarantining in schools saying that for an individual to avoid quarantine upon exposure to COVID-19 they must have been fully vaccinated, tested positive and recovered for COIVD-19 within the last 90 days, or both parties having been masked correctly. He also announced a new incentive to encourage vaccination in schools which states that if a school’s community vaccination rate of staff and students in a particular school, not a school district, reaches 70% or higher an exposed person does not need to quarantine.

The governor also rolled out a pilot program for participating schools to offer a rapid test to an exposed individual. If the individual tests negative and wears a mask they can stay in school. Arkansas has approximately 100,000 rapid tests in its inventory and participating schools will receive those tests on a first come, first serve basis.

Education Secretary Johnny Key said that the number of cases in schools across Arkansas has decreased by about 500 from the previous week and currently sits at 2,100 total positive cases. He also mentioned that in the past week no schools in the state have had to modify their on-site instruction.