LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Editor's Note: You can watch Governor Asa Hutchinson's full announcement on the 5NEWS YouTube page.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson made multiple announcements about COVID-19 vaccines Monday (March 8) morning.
Arkansas is opening up its COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan to include all categories in Phase 1-B.
Those inside the Phase 1-B group include:
- Arkansans aged 65 years or older
- Education staff members K-12, child care and higher education
- Frontline essential workers
- Food and agricultural workers
- Firefighters/police not covered in Phase 1-A
- Manufacturing workers
- Grocery store workers
- Public transit workers
- U.S. Postal Service workers
- Essential government workers
- Correctional staff
- Houses of Worship leadership
- Arkansans with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The governor also announced that the Arkansas Department of Health had moved those with intellectual and developmental disabilities from Phase 1-C to Phase 1-B.
This move will make over 180,000 more Arkansans eligible to get the shot.
“Thanks to doctors, nurses, and pharmacies around the state, our vaccination program is running strong,” Governor Hutchinson said. “We are seeing an encouraging drop in the number of new cases, active cases, and hospitalizations. Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero and I agree that we can now allow everyone who falls in the 1-B category who wants a vaccine to have one. This will hasten the day when we contain COVID-19 in Arkansas.”
The governor also announced a state-wide call center will now be open to help Arkansans book COVID-19 vaccine appointments at Arkansas Department of Health and health equity vaccine clinics. Workers at the call center will not be able to book appointments for the shot at a local pharmacy but will provide information to help take the first steps.
The number for the new hotline is 1-800-985-6030. The call center will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Translation services will be available.
Over 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines will be available for Arkansans this week, Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson said he believes Phase 1-C will start at the end of March or early April.
Monday's report from the Arkansas Department of Health stated that 324,951 Arkansans have tested positive for the virus since March 2020 and that 742,204 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have made it into the arms of Arkansans. It was announced Monday that 234 doses of the over a million received in Arkansas have been lost.