FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky reported its highest daily number of COVID-19 deaths Thursday as the governor pressed for increased vaccine shipments from the federal government.
“You give it to us, we can get it in people’s arms,” Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference in which he maintained his calls for the U.S. government to double Kentucky’s supply of the vaccine.
The Democratic governor said the state suffered 58 more coronavirus-related deaths, pushing its death toll from the pandemic above 3,300. He called it a “staggering” loss and said an American flag will be placed on the statehouse grounds Friday for each Kentuckian who has died from the virus.
“These are all children of God, loved by their families, needed by their community, deeply, deeply missed,” Beshear said.
As Kentucky has ramped up its vaccination campaign, demand has outpaced supply. It prompted Beshear this week to ask the federal government to double Kentucky’s vaccine allotment.
“You give it to us, we can get it in people’s arms,” the governor said Thursday. “We can get it in people’s arms in less than seven days.”
Beshear said he hasn’t yet received a “direct reply” to his request to double the vaccine allocation.
The state isn’t experiencing the “type of vaccine hesitancy” that some had expected, he said.
“At the moment, we’re seeing people who want it so desperately, so many groups that deserve it and need it,” he said. “Our bigger challenge is patience. But we’ve just got to have more” doses.
President Joe Biden has vowed to dispense 100 million shots in his first 100 days in office. In one of his first orders of business, Biden signed executive orders to combat the coronavirus pandemic, including one broadening the use of the Defense Production Act to expand vaccine production.
Beshear said he’s pushing to increase statewide capacity to administer vaccinations at faster rates, in preparation for the time when vaccine shipments increase.
“Because if the new administration or anybody else can get us more vaccine, I want to be able to get it out that week, even if we have no prior notice,” he said.
Beshear said he looks forward to working with Biden’s administration to combat the coronavirus, and he praised the new president for his immediate focus on the pandemic. The governor noted that he also worked well with former President Donald Trump’s administration in battling COVID.
As part of the state’s vaccination ramp up, Beshear recently announced that Kentucky will partner with the grocery chain Kroger to create inoculation centers that will expand the groups of people receiving shots. The partnership will lead to high-volume, drive-thru vaccination centers being set up statewide.
Beshear said last week that the drive-thru centers will expand access to the vaccinations to everyone through the third tier, which includes people 60 and older, anyone older than 16 with high-risk medical conditions and anyone deemed an essential worker.
The top tier for vaccinations includes health care workers plus residents and staff at long-term care centers. The next tier targets emergency responders, K-12 school workers and people 70 and older.
Meanwhile, the record-setting number of virus-related deaths reported Thursday followed a post-holiday bump in COVID-19 cases, Beshear said. But it appears that “exponential growth” has been stopped, he said. Beshear reported 3,728 new statewide virus cases.
“Sounds like a lot,” he said. “It is a lot. We need fewer cases. But it’s also the lowest total for a Thursday in over four weeks.”
Slightly more than 1,600 virus patients are hospitalized in Kentucky, including 395 in intensive care. The state’s rate of positive COVID-19 cases was 11.05%, down slightly from the prior day.
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