ARKANSAS, USA — Arkansas is experiencing the worst COVID-19 surge since the pandemic began, but Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday (Aug. 10) he doesn’t support a statewide mask mandate or changing the start dates for schools.
During the last 24 hours, the number of cases has increased by 2,620 and the number of deaths is up 24 to 6,334. An estimated 91.86% of those dying now are not vaccinated while 8.14% of those dying are vaccinated, the governor said. Only 27,000 of the state’s nearly 630,000 Medicaid recipients have received the vaccine, a paltry 4.3%. Reimbursements for doctor-referred vaccinations will be increased from $40 to $100 to encourage more physicians to recommend vaccination.
“That is extremely, extremely low,” Hutchinson said. “It’s a challenge for us with this vulnerable population.”
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