Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson was joined by members of his cabinet to update citizens on the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday. Listen to the address in full here:
LITTLE ROCK – During his weekly briefing Tuesday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson gave an update on redistricting maps, his trip to Earle and announced his plan to travel to Israel next week. He also discussed the plan to implement vaccines for children ages 5-11 once it becomes available and provided an update on the current COVID-19 numbers.
Redistricting
Gov. Hutchinson announced the website where the public can view the maps being proposed for the upcoming redistricting vote. You can find those maps HERE.
Earle Trip
The Governor also highlighted his trip to Earle to celebrate a $3.7 million broadband expansion that will provide broadband access to 2,325 homes and businesses in both Earle and Parkin. The Governor gave thanks to Comcast and to the cities of Earle and Parkin for their partnership in the project.
“To date, the Arkansas Rural Connect Program has provided nearly $280 million in funds and in grants which covers 213,000 Arkansans that now have access to high-speed internet,” Governor Hutchinson says.
He also gave thanks to Comcast for its surprise donation of more than 500 laptops to students in the Earle school district.
Israel Trip
Gov. Hutchinson announced in the weekly briefing that he will be traveling to Israel next week on an economic development trip.
The governor was invited to speak at the prime minister’s International Smart Mobility conference. The Summit will focus on technology and solutions for the future of transportation.
There will be more than 5,000 people from 40 different countries in attendance at the Summit, which will provide a large platform to promote Arkansas business.
Vaccines for Children ages 5-11
The governor announced that Arkansas will be using the existing immunizations infrastructure and strategy to provide COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 5-11 once they are authorized. He noted that the vaccine will not be available to the public until after the CDC has made a recommendation for the vaccine, which could come as early as Tuesday.
“Arkansas is well prepared to get out the vaccines and make them available to the age group that we anticipate will be approved,” Governor Hutchinson says, “We want to ensure to everyone that this is a parental decision for their children, we encourage it and that discussion, but there is no mandate.”
All ADH Local Health Units (LHU)s will provide pediatric vaccinations. Vaccines for Children (VFC) providers that are enrolled in the COVID-19 vaccination program will also receive vaccines to vaccinate the children they serve.
If parents are unsure if their provider is administering vaccines, they should contact their provider. If they do not have a provider, or their provider is not part of the initial roll-out, they should make an appointment with the LHU closest to them.
The ADH is partnering with the Arkansas Pharmacists Association, Arkansas Medical Society, Immunize Arkansas and other professional organizations to provide training on the new pediatric COVID-19 vaccine to providers.
If Arkansans need information about pediatric vaccines, they can call the ADH COVID-19 call center at 1-800-803-7847.
COVID-19 Latest
Gov. Hutchinson reported 641 new cases reported Tuesday, which is slightly up from last week’s report, and active cases went up by 70. The report included a jump of 28 additional deaths in Arkansas.
In the report, Gov. Hutchinson noted that Arkansas passed the 1,400,000 fully immunized mark with nearly 2,000 new fully vaccinated Arkansans added Tuesday.