FRANFORT, Ky (AP) - Kentuckians aged 50 and up are now eligible for the coronavirus vaccine and should sign up for appointments as soon as they are available, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday.
“These vaccines are getting out really fast. We want to get even better,” the Democratic governor said at a virtual news briefing. “There can be a negative consequence of both too fast and too slow, so we’re trying to thread that needle, and we’ll continue to adjust to try to do just that.”
More than 1,186,500 Kentuckians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and starting Apr. 12, residents 16 and older also will be eligible.
Under current guidelines, those who are 60 and older are already eligible, in addition to essential workers and those with pre-existing conditions listed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kentucky reported 294 confirmed coronavirus cases and 11 virus-related deaths Monday. Beshear added that none of those deaths occurred in March. Some 434 Kentuckians are currently hospitalized with COVID-19.
The Bluegrass state has now recorded 10 straight weeks of declining COVID-19 case numbers.
As the number of new cases continues to slow and more people are vaccinated, Beshear said, he hopes the CDC will release more guidance on how vaccinated people and unvaccinated people can travel or gather in groups.
“I really think we need more fleshing out of all of that and we need it sooner rather than later because the CDC is taking a more nuanced role … there’s a vacuum created that we need filled by that guidance as well,” he said.
The state’s test positivity rate is 2.93%. The positivity rate is an indicator of the extent of the spread of the virus, according to the World Health Organization. If the rate is less than 5% for two weeks and testing is widespread, the virus is considered under control.
Only eight of Kentucky’s 120 counties are reported to be in the red zone - the most serious category for COVID-19 incidence rates. People in those counties are asked to follow stricter recommended guidelines to contain the virus.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal. The vast majority of people recover.
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Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
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Hudspeth Blackburn is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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