LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It's no secret that the demand for the vaccine in Arkansas has fluctuated a lot over the past eight months.
Our state has seen doses go to waste, but recently demand has picked up.
So now will full FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine, is the state fully equipped for a potential rush?
We took that question to the experts for a THV11 verify.
On the heels of Pfizer's full FDA approval, top doctors in our state said they think demand will sky-rocket because a lack of full approval played a big role in vaccine hesitancy.
Will Arkansas have enough vaccines to meet a high demand?
Our sources are Colonel Robert Ator, the coordinator of the state's COVID-19 vaccine distribution and John Vinson, the CEO of the Arkansas Pharmacist Association.
Right off the bat, our experts said, "yes." The state has plenty of vaccines already on hand to meet a possible surge in vaccinations.
Ator said at the state level, we are well prepared.
"We have almost four weeks of supply in the state and we've got it tucked all over the state, so we are in a position to take care of whatever need and every kind of demand that's out there," he said.
According to Ator, that four-week supply includes 175,000 Pfizer doses, 132,000 Moderna doses, and 40,000 Johnson & Johnson doses.
To compare, he said the biggest 30-day period the state ever had was 200,000 doses given out and that was back at the end of February.
"I think we are in a better position to do numbers in excess of what we've done in the past, and so we'll be in a good position," Ator said.
With full FDA approval for the Pfizer vaccine and booster shots coming up at the end of September, the picture inside pharmacies could look like it did when the rollout began.
According to Vinson, pharmacies are expecting that uptick.
"The Arkansas pharmacists and their pharmacy practices, I would say yes, are prepared for giving additional vaccines," he said.
Another big factor, the amount of pharmacies able to give the vaccine has tripled since the start.
More than 600 pharmacies, across the state, are now fully equipped to give out the shots, according to Vinson.
"We're in a good position, we're able to answer whatever need that is out there and we want to make sure anyone can get their hands on the vaccine to get protected," Ator said.
So we can verify, yes, Arkansas health officials said our state will have enough COVID-10 vaccines to meet high demand.
If you have a question you want us to verify, send an email to verify@thv11.com or text us (501) 376-1111.