LITTLE ROCK, Ark — This time last year, COVID vaccines were being distributed to Arkansans in different phrases while cases were rising daily. This time around, even with vaccines being available for everybody, health officials are anticipating a surge of cases and testing after the holidays.
Dr. Jennifer Dillaha with the Arkansas Department of Health says there's 63 confirmed cases of omicron in the state.
The ADH says the omicron doesn’t respond well to the monoclonal antibodies they have been using to treat the delta variant. New authorized treatments will soon become available.
"So we find ourselves in the middle of what we're calling an omicron variant surge. This is a little bit worrisome because even though it appears as though not as higher proportion of people who get omicron end up in the hospital, the sheer numbers can greatly increase our hospitalizations," said Dillaha.
Medical experts still haven't confirmed whether or not the omicron variant is as severe as delta.
Many people aren't taking chances and are making sure they are helping keep themselves and loved ones safe by getting tested.
Dr. Ahmad Brown is the chief medical officer of Natural State Labs. He says thousands of people have come through their drive-thru locations with a massive surge this time last year.
"You know, we're actually seeing a surge already that started probably a couple of weeks ago, and we are seeing it ramp up exponentially right now at our drive through locations," Dr. Brown said.
Dr. Robert Hopkins is a professor of internal medicine at UAMS.
He says last year, there was a COVID surge of cases and hospitalizations and says we're seeing a somewhat similar pattern right now.
"There's not quite as many hospitalizations as we had this time last year, but we're seeing things go up. What many of us are hoping is that omicron is going to be at least a bit less severe than delta, which may mean we'd have less people in the hospital," said Hopkins.
He says they're already seeing an increase in hospitalization numbers at UAMS. They're in their mid to high 20's now.
A week ago, they were right at 20.
"Only about 15% of Arkansans that are eligible have gotten their booster dose. Please. Get vaccinated. Get your booster," said Hopkins.