Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Arkansas Governor Wants To Reverse Mask Mandate Ban He Signed
Axios: Arkansas Governor Says He Regrets Banning Mask Mandates
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday he regrets signing a bill into law that banned local mask mandates in the state. Hutchinson has called on the state legislature to amend the law to let school districts decide whether to require face coverings when they return to in-person learning this fall. (Gonzalez, 8/4)
NPR: Arkansas Governor Wants To Reverse A Law That Forbids Schools To Require Masks
Months after he signed the bill banning state and local mask mandates, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he wants the law reversed to give schools the option to require face coverings when children return to the classroom. "In hindsight, I wish that it had not become law. But it is the law, and the only chance we have is either to amend it or for the courts to say that it has an unconstitutional foundation," he said at a Tuesday news conference. Hutchinson has called a special session for the state legislature to change the law. During the news conference, he and Secretary of Health Jose Romero stressed that children under 12 are currently the most vulnerable group in the state because they are unable to get the vaccine. (Fischels, 8/4)
CNN: New Data On Kids And Covid Made Even A GOP Governor Flip On Masks In Schools
The freedom coveted by some Americans to avoid vaccines and spurn masks is, increasingly, leading to a group of Americans that can't access vaccines getting Covid-19. We're talking about kids under 12, who need to go back to school over the next month, but can't get the vaccine. "I think we've let our children down," Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine adviser to the US Food and Drug Administration, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday, while discussing low vaccination rates in the US placing children who cannot get the shot at risk. "They depend on those around them to protect them," he said. (Wolf, 8/4)
In related news from Arkansas —
CNN: This Arkansas Hospital Is So Short On Nurses In This Newest Covid-19 Surge, It's Offering A $25,000 Signing Bonus
Takela Gardner began her nursing career just two years ago, but her patients already think she's a seasoned nurse. A registered nurse at a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) facility in Little Rock, Gardner told CNN she's had to essentially learn nursing on the fly during the Covid-19 pandemic, which she said began eight months into her nursing career. Not only that, but seeing constant death, working long shifts and having a shortage of health care staff -- specifically nurses -- have left Gardner burnt out. (Vera, Savidge, Cartaya and Hanna, 8/5)
Thv11.Com: Virtually Zero Hospital Beds Available In Arkansas, Officials Say
The Arkansas Secretary of Health Dr. Jose Romero said there is no space in any state hospitals for inpatient care (ICU beds.) In a meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 4, Dr. Romero asked the steering committee to direct money from the American Rescue Plan to get more hospital staff and beds for COVID-19 patients. A hospital bed would cost $4,000 each. Dr. Rawle Seupaul, the UAMS Chief Medical Officer said the hospital can't give adequate care to patients as the delta variant is causing mostly unvaccinated Arkansans to receive inpatient care. (8/4)
