also tends to affect women from ages 18-49 . Physicians should understand this and keep a high index of suspicion or they could miss this one . When this is seen , physicians should make sure not to treat with Heparin . “ Unlike traditional thrombotic events , Heparin is contraindicated in this , so we should use a non-Heparin anticoagulant . Avoid platelet transfusions in this , because they just feed the fire .”
Vaccination Uptake
After covering vaccine efficacy and how well vaccines stand up against variants , Dr . Romero moved to the subject of vaccination uptake . Referring to slide data showing uptake by age group , he said , “ What ’ s important to see is the end of the curve , which has flattened . I ’ m very curious to see what happens next as 12-to-16-yearolds become eligible for this and accept it . I ’ m hoping to see an increase in [ uptake from that ]. Again , the pediatrician , the family practitioner … you all are the trusted source of information for the parent . They ’ re going to come to you and ask you questions about the vaccine and whether the child should receive it .”
In Arkansas , the older individuals ( 65 and up ) have the highest uptake ( 70 %) followed by individuals 18-64 . “ We ’ re doing better in older
individuals , but we really need to start getting to those people who are working and the young now that we have the 12-years-old and up [ availability ].”
Regarding the state ’ s progress in equity of vaccine dissemination , Dr . Romero reiterated , “ The colonel spoke about our work carried out here in the state about race / ethnicity equity , how that we ’ re doing very well regarding that . The Latino / Hispanic population has the highest uptake , followed by African Americans … we ’ re topping the nation in this area .”
Concerns Moving Forward
Dr . Romero shared some surprising news about who has and hasn ’ t been fully vaccinated . Referring to slide data showing vaccination rates by certain groups , he said , “ Here in Arkansas , we have data on 90 % of our recipients , and we can tell you the uptake within specific groups . Focusing on the full series , you can see that , for health care workers and first responders – those individuals that were in group 1A , only 38.4 % have been fully vaccinated . If you look at those in longterm care facilities , only 35-36 % have been fully vaccinated . And even though the governor was way ahead of the curve when he said , ‘ we need to immunize teachers first – we need to protect them .’ [ Even though ] we offered them the vaccine before any other state in the union did , we only have about 47 % of that group fully immunized and the uptake has not been good . So , there is a lot of ground to cover . We need to educate and tell people that it is important that we continue to receive the vaccine .”
Dr . Romero was named secretary of the Arkansas Department of Health in August 2020 . He is a member of the governor ’ s cabinet and provides senior scientific and executive leadership for the agency . He is currently the chairman of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ’ s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices ( ACIP ), which is providing guidance nationally on the prioritization and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine . Dr . Romero was section director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UAMS and Arkansas Children ’ s Hospital from 2008-2020 . He is a professor of pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at UAMS and has board certification in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases . Dr . Romero ’ s research interests include molecular pathogenesis , epidemiology , and diagnosis of enteroviral infections , clinical and therapeutic aspects of enterovirus , herpes virus , cytomegalovirus , pediatric tuberculosis , and pneumococcal infections .
Volume 118 • Number 1 JULY 2021 • 13