Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday that 60% of all Kentuckians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. At least 2,682,277 Kentuckians have been vaccinated: 64% of all Kentuckians five and older, and 72% of all Kentuckians 18 and older.
“I want to acknowledge that 60% of Kentuckians vaccinated is not enough, but this has never been done in the history of the world before,” said Gov. Beshear. “It hasn’t even been a year since the first vaccines were shipped out, and we’ve got 60% of every man, woman and child who lives in this state vaccinated. We need to be proud of that accomplishment and use it as motivation to keep going.”
Dr. Steven Stack, the commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, noted the COVID-19 omicron variant has now been identified in the United States. The variant has not yet been found in Kentucky.
Please continue to wear masks. Protect yourself and others. (CDC)
Dr. Stack said he is working with local health departments and labs to identify suspected cases as quickly as possible. The variant has several genetic changes. Research is underway to determine if these changes impact transmissibility, severity, immunity, and treatments.
“The question is: What is the impact and what do we do about it? It is important to be careful and concerned but it is not a time to panic,” said Dr. Stack. “We have much better tools than when this pandemic started – the future is not outside our control.”
The Governor and Dr. Stack said it is more important than ever to get vaccinated and boosted (all Kentucky adults are eligible to receive a vaccination booster); wear a mask in indoor public settings; get tested after experiencing symptoms, and stay home when sick.
As of today, 581,442 Kentuckians have had a vaccination booster, approximately 13% of the population.
From March 1 to Dec. 1, 82.6% of all COVID-19 cases, 84.6% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations, and 82.7% of all COVID-19 deaths in Kentucky were among partially vaccinated or unvaccinated individuals.
On Thursday, Kenton County reported 142 new cases, Boone County reported 95 and Campbell County reported 67. All three counties are in the red zone.
Enhancements to the COVID-19 Public-Facing Dashboard
Gov. Beshear said as the pandemic evolves, so does the data that state officials track and publish on kycovid19.ky.gov.
“Since the start of administering vaccines, we’ve been frequently asked what ‘vaccinated’ means. To help provide that information, we’ve made enhancements to the vaccination data,” said Gov. Beshear.
It is now possible to find the number of fully vaccinated Kentuckians and the number who have received the booster. The Governor said the site continues to define “fully vaccinated” as being two weeks beyond receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or two weeks beyond the second Pfizer or Moderna vaccination shot.
This information can also be broken down by age and vaccine brand using a dropdown menu. Users can now access a map where they can learn the number of vaccinations and boosters by county broken down by age and vaccine brand.
