Kentucky has announced the first 11 hospitals in the state to receive the first round of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine this month.
Governor Andy Beshear said Thursday that Lourdes Hospital in Paducah, Baptist Health in Madisonville, and The Medical Center at Bowling Green will each receive 975 doses as part of the state’s plan to provide front line health care workers with the vaccine.
click to download audioBeshear said it was important the 11 hospitals chosen to represent all areas of the state and areas with a high COVID case rate.
click to download audioBeshear said hospitals have already put their employees into tiers that are based on their exposure to COVID patients to determine who will receive the vaccine.
click to download audioBoth the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine takes two shots to complete. The first primes the body and the second a couple of weeks later boosts the response. Both vaccines have shown to be at least 95-percent effective in initial trials.
The news comes on a day when the state reported 3,895 new cases of COVID-19. This is the second week of the governor’s latest restrictions that included closing schools and restaurants to inside service. The second week average of new cases was 66 fewer a day than the first week of the new restrictions.
The governor reported 416 kids 18 and under tested positive which comes two weeks after his latest executive order sent middle school and high school students home for virtual learning until January 4. School administrators have argued that mitigation policies in place at their schools have helped keep the COVID case rate low among students.
However, the state reported 34 deaths Thursday. That total is derived following state certification and not the date of death meaning some could have died up to two weeks ago. The state’s three highest death totals have come this week and the total number of people in the state who have died linked to the coronavirus has topped 2,000.
The deaths ranged in age from 50 to 101 with the average age 81.
The state also saw a positivity rate of over 10-percent for the first time and the 1,810 people hospitalized are also the most since the pandemic began.
As the governor continues to urge people to follow social distancing guidelines and wear a mask during a time when the state’s COVID cases are at an all-time high, some fear his message is falling on deaf ears. Beshear uses his podium four days a week to give updates on the state’s progress in fighting the coronavirus. In March, over 38,000 people watched his daily video stream on YouTube. Thursday, fewer than 3,000 watched.
