By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
A COVID-19 vaccine booster event at the state Capitol on Wednesday drew more than 200 people to get either their third dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or their second dose of Johnson & Johnson.
Those currently eligible for a booster are those who are either 65 or older, have an underlying health condition, or work in a job which exposes you to a large amount of people. The waiting period for the Pfizer and Moderna boosters is six months after the second shot, and two months after receiving the J&J vaccine.
Rocky Adkins receives booster
Gov. Andy Beshear, who received his third shot last week, said, “Some studies suggest 80% of those over 18 will qualify for a booster. The reason we need it is that every month that goes by, we have breakthrough cases, hospitalizations, and negative outcomes. That’s because people’s level of immunity drops over time and the delta variant is more aggressive. To keep yourself protected, get that booster and get your immunity up.”
Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman received her booster and explained why.
“I’m taking it because I want to protect the most vulnerable, and in my case, in my household, my 21-month old daughter Evelynne. Our three older kids have been vaccinated and will get their boosters as soon as they can.”
She added, “For myself, as an elected leader, as someone who has taught in Kentucky schools for over a decade, as a mother, as a wife, it’s really the least that we can do to protect all of our citizens and all of our family members; especially the most vulnerable among us.”
Gov. Beshear admitted the honest answer is no one knows if getting COVID-19 boosters will become an annual event like flu shots.
“It is a brand-new virus,” he said. “It did not exist until it hit us so hard. The once in a century pandemics and viruses have acted differently than each other. Some of them we still give children a vaccine for, some of them are gone. We are blessed that we have the science, the technology, the ability in a year to create a vaccine, then realize we need a booster and can do that for hundreds of millions of people.”
Others receiving the vaccine Wednesday included Supreme Court Justice Laurance VanMeter, State Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg, and the Governor’s Senior advisor Rocky Adkins.
