LITTLE ROCK, Ark — We're just weeks away from something highly anticipated by many kids and parents since they missed out last year... summer camps!
There were several different things that camps had to decide this year that they've never had to in the past, one of them being vaccines.
Several camps said they will not be requiring counselors to get the vaccines, they're just "strongly encouraging" them, but jobs may look a little different for those who are vaccinated versus those who aren't.
At Ferncliff summer camp in Little Rock, Executive Director Joel Gill said they didn't want to come in between any of their counselors and their health, but even without a vaccine requirement, the majority of their staff is already fully protected.
"What we're requiring related to the vaccine is we are going to do testing," he said.
According to Gill, this means any camper staying overnight will have to have a negative COVID-19 test within three days of arriving.
He said they will be tested periodically and assignments may be a little different for those counselors who aren't vaccinated.
"We wouldn't necessarily have any unvaccinated counselors or staff staying in the residences with the campers," Gill said.
It's a similar story at Lake Nixon Summer Day Camp.
According to Director Mike Simmons, there is no vaccine requirement for staff, but encouragement is working.
"They are either fully vaccinated or in the process of getting their second shot," he said.
Simmons said masks will be the biggest difference for those staff members vaccinated versus not vaccinated.
For those protected, they're following what they call the "two out of three rule."
"If you're outside and you can distance, no mask. If you're outside and you can't distance, wear a mask, and if you're inside, wear a mask," he said.
For those on staff who haven't gotten the shot, according to Simmons, "it's masks all day, every day."
With waitlists between 25 to 150 kids, both directors emphasized the value of summer camp this year more than ever before.
"Being outdoors and running and playing, those are things kids have to do," Gill said.
"They've been plugged into their computers, they need to be unplugged, they need to be outside and just be kids," Simmons said.
On Monday, according to Gill, the department of health sent out new information related to group sizes, which could ease restrictions a bit.
He said this means they could get more campers into camp, but it's something they are still looking over.