As a service to our readers, The Sentinel-Record publishes updates released by the city of Hot Springs and the state of Arkansas.
The following stats were posted Wednesday on the Arkansas Department of Health website:
• 257,629 cumulative confirmed cases, up 180 from Tuesday.
• 194.29 rolling seven-day average of new confirmed cases, down 1.71 from Tuesday.
• 2,791,462 PCR test reports, up 7,857 from Tuesday.
• 9.2% cumulative PCR infection rate, no change from Tuesday.
• 70,152 cumulative probable cases, up 145 from Tuesday.
• 16.7% cumulative antigen infection rate, no change from Tuesday.
• 2,808 active confirmed and probable cases, down 67 from Tuesday.
• 1,329,170 vaccine doses received, up 3,970 from Tuesday.
• 795,387 doses given, up 14,039 from Tuesday.
• 260 hospitalizations, up three from Tuesday.
• 54 cases on a ventilator, down four from Tuesday.
• 116 ICU patients, down two from Tuesday.
• 4,400 confirmed deaths, up 13 from Tuesday.
• 1,107 probable deaths, up one from Tuesday.
• 2,029 nursing home deaths, up seven from Tuesday.
• 8,370 cumulative confirmed cases in Garland County, up four from Tuesday.
• 9.86 rolling seven-day average of new confirmed cases, down 0.14 from Tuesday.
• 108,035 PCR and antigen test reports, up 229 from Tuesday.
• 81,813 private lab reports, up 229 from Tuesday.
• 26,222 public lab reports, no change from Tuesday.
• 8.8% cumulative PCR infection report, down from 8.9% Tuesday.
• 85 active confirmed cases in Garland County, down three from Tuesday.
• 8,085 recoveries of confirmed cases in Garland County, up six from Tuesday.
• 1,585 cumulative probable cases in Garland County, down one from Tuesday.
• Nine active probable cases in Garland County, down two from Tuesday.
• 200 confirmed deaths, up one from Tuesday.
• 46 probable deaths, up one from Tuesday.
Arkansas ranked 49th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia in percentage of vaccines administered, according to data the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated Wednesday.
The CDC said the state has injected 67.32% of the more than 1.3 million doses it's received, a rate exceeding only Georgia and Alabama. North Dakota and New Mexico had the highest rates, administering 88.7% and 87.61% of their doses.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said many of the doses that haven't been administered are being held for booster doses but acknowledged some Arkansans are reluctant to get vaccinated. About 10% of the state's 3 million people have been fully vaccinated. The Health Department said 70% is the threshold for herd immunity.
"I don't know all the reasons why there is a hesitancy, but whenever you see a lower case count in a community they don't see the same level of risk or urgency," Hutchinson said Tuesday during his weekly update. "It should not be based on anything other than the science of it. We travel. We go to ballgames together. If we're going to get to more normal life, we need to have everyone get vaccinated.
"People say I'll wait a while. I'll get it after we see more people have experience with it."
He said more than half of the state's 65 and older population has received their primary dose, and almost 30% are fully vaccinated. The demand hasn't been as robust as eligibility expanded to lower-risk groups. Hutchinson said the state strives to inject doses within three days of receipt, a timeline flagging demand has frustrated.
Hutchinson said vaccine reluctance may be a function of the state's rural character, but North Dakota and New Mexico, two of the country's least densely populous states, have the highest rates of vaccine administration.