Arkansas Department of Health

Gov. Asa Hutchinson received his Pfizer booster shot Tuesday (Sept. 28) moments before he held his weekly COVID-19 pandemic press conference. The governor, his wife and Arkansas Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero got their boosters shot on live television to encourage others to get vaccinated, the governor said.

Several inmates at a northwest Arkansas jail said they weren't told a medication they were given to treat COVID-19 was actually an anti-parasite drug that federal health officials have warned should not be used to treat the coronavirus.

All intensive care unit beds for COVID-19 patients in Arkansas are full, with those people making up roughly half of all ICU patients in the state. That’s according to Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who said in his weekly coronavirus briefing Tuesday the state’s hospital capacity is at its lowest point since the pandemic began.

Some Arkansans may have one less reason to be reluctant about getting a COVID-19 vaccine. On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration announced it had given full approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine.

Arkansans will have the opportunity to receive incentives if they get vaccinated for COVID-19. Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday those who receive a vaccine going forward can take their vaccination card to a local health unit starting June 1 to choose between two incentives.

Arkansas is among states pausing the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after reports of people developing unusual blood clots. This comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration announced they were investigating six cases of women who developed cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. One death was reported among the women.

The Arkansas Senate narrowly voted Thursday to keep state Health Secretary Dr. José Romero in his position, despite criticism from some senators over his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wasting no time, the Arkansas legislature overrode Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s veto of HB 1570 on Tuesday (April 6). The governor vetoed the measure on Monday calling it a “vast government overreach” and “well-intended” but “off course.”

The Craighead County Local Health Unit in Jonesboro on Tuesday will have a vaccination clinic starting at 9:30 A.M. and lasting until 6 P.M. The Crittenden County Local Health Unit in West Memphis will have a clinic from 9:30 A.M. until 6 P.M.

Arkansas' Department of Health has COVID vaccination clinics set up across the state on Monday.