Prognosis
In Rural Arkansas, a Shocking Loss Wards Off Vaccine Hesitancy
As the delta variant ravages under-vaccinated areas, the relative success of a Covid-19 vaccine push in Bradley County may be an instructive case study.
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Bradley County, Arkansas has much in common with communities across the U.S. that have seen widespread resistance to vaccinating against Covid-19: It is extremely rural, heavily Republican and has significant Black and Latino populations.
Yet Bradley is an outlier in a state where uptake of vaccines is among the lowest in the nation. In July, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced it was the first county in Arkansas to vaccinate at least half of the eligible population. At the time, that was more than twice the rate of several other counties in the state.