Governor shifts vaccine plan; first responders move up in line

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday moved police, firefighters and other first responders to the front of the covid-19 vaccine line, breaking with the established, phased administration plan.

As the vaccine continues a slow rollout -- with only about one-third of the vaccine doses administered from the vials that landed in the state on Dec. 14 -- state Epidemiologist Dr. Jennifer Dillaha said in an interview Monday that the state Health Department has new resolve to make the vaccine plans and data more transparent and available to the public.

Dillaha spoke as the state's daily count of new cases was relatively low, at 1,306, but as the number of Arkansas covid-19 patients hospitalized, in intensive care units and on ventilators all reached record highs, according to data released by the Arkansas Department of Health.

The first responders, such as police and fire personnel, were initially in Phase 1B of the Health Department's vaccine distribution plan, as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but Hutchinson moved the group to the initial phase.

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