JOHNSON, Ark. — More mass vaccination clinics are starting to pop up in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley.
Fort Smith held one Wednesday (Feb. 24) for about 500 people and one of the biggest clinics is set to take place Friday (Feb. 26) in Lowell. 3,000 Arkansans will receive their COVID-19 vaccine at JB Hunt Headquarters.
“The bulk of our patients tomorrow will be 70 and older but being 65 and older you meet the criteria now," said Ryan Cork, Executive Director Healthcare Transformation Division, Northwest Arkansas Council.
If you are in an eligible category and a Benton County resident, you can still register for the clinic hosted by the Northwest Arkansas Council and other healthcare systems by going online or calling 833-364-6777.
Northwest Health is also having a large vaccination clinic Friday at the Jones Center in Springdale for about 1,400 people, but those appointments have already been filled.
“1,400 spots filled up in about two hours so it was incredible how fast it filled up but we’re ready to go and we’ll get everyone taken care of tomorrow," said Alex Hummer, Administrator at Northwest Medical Center.
The state's allocation from the federal government is increasing significantly to nearly 100,000 doses a week.
“I feel really good about the increase in doses coming in, I feel good about the possibility of more, I also feel pretty good about Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine having a shot at being approved and allocated and released," Vinson said.
Vaccine providers say at the beginning of the rollout there was a lot of uncertainty, but things have improved.
“Now it’s day after day that you’re getting notified that a new shipment is on the way.”3:57//2:55 “I think there’s a lot more hope now and if they are on waitlist right now it’s not going to be for much longer," Hummer said.
Providers say this is a positive sign for Arkansas and in the fight against COVID-19.
Collier Pharmacy is also having a vaccine clinic on Saturday (Feb. 27) at its location in Garfield. The clinic is full but you can still sign up for a waitlist.
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