LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Thursday marked a goal that seemed impossible just four months ago – one million Arkansans have now gotten their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.
"The whole purpose of today is to simply say how important it is to get the vaccine," Governor Asa Hutchinson said, speaking to a small crowd of media and health care workers at the Arkansas Department of Health.
Thursday's event was highlighted by the one-millionth person receiving their shot.
Now that we've hit a milestone this big, how do we compare to those around us?
"Southern states, in general, tend to hang together in terms of their rates of vaccinations," Dr. Jennifer Dillaha, Arkansas' epidemiologist, said.
Let's take a look at our six neighbors – Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
One of the major factors to consider, and one that tends to complicate comparisons, is population. Arkansas isn't the biggest or smallest of the six neighboring states.
For example, Texas has just under 30 million people, while Mississippi has just over 2.9 million.
"In terms of administration, we're doing well," Gov. Hutchinson said. "But in terms of equity, we're actually leading, we're way above the national percentile of the administration of the vaccine in an equitable fashion. Arkansas scores very well."
Arkansas hangs right around the same rate of vaccinations as our neighbors – roughly a third of their vaccinations, and so have we.
We're even beating Mississippi when it comes to vaccines administered, according to the CDC.
But even with that, Dr. Dillaha says we shouldn't get complacent.
"I would like Arkansas to be higher," she said. "We really need to make sure that as many people who are eligible get vaccinated as possible."
While we're keeping up with our neighbors, we have a new issue to deal with.
As we increase the number of people vaccinated, we're starting to run out of people willing to get their shots.
"Where we're weak is that we're starting to build up the inventory," Gov. Hutchinson said. "That is because we have ordered well, we have this supply here, but the demand is slackening off."