The federal government is placed to deliver about 150,000 coronavirus vaccines to Kentucky from mid- to late December, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday.
Beshear's announcement means more vaccines are on a quicker track than what Beshear indicated just last week. The very first doses is going to be delivered to residents and staff in long-term care facilities as well as health care workers.
“We think that there may be as many as five separate shipments forwards and backwards vaccines in December alone which would be really great news,” Beshear said.
The state is expected to get 38,025 doses of the Pfizer vaccine the week of Dec. 13th followed by another 110,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine between Dec. 20th and the end of the season, Beshear said.
A second dose from the vaccine, known as a booster, will be required and it is likely to arrive around three weeks after a first dose, he said.
Kentucky will quickly generate a majority of the first round of vaccines to long-term care residents and staff due to the high death rate at those facilities – about 66% of all of the state's fatalities — which is greater than national average, Beshear said.
The remaining doses goes toward vaccinating healthcare workers at 11 hospitals. Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Steven Stack said their state can't inflict in addition to that since the vaccine can't be delivered in shipments small compared to 975 doses.
Stack called the creation and receiving the vaccine a contemporary medical miracle.
“We are going to have not one but two vaccinations readily available for people under 10 months (since) our first coronavirus patient was identified in Kentucky,” Stack said.
Last week, Kentucky surpassed 200,000 cases and most 2,000 deaths from COVID-19.
Beshear said the speed of development in virus transmission seemed to slow a week ago in comparison to the weeks prior. He reported 1,972 cases on Monday, which was fewer than the daily report on the final two Mondays when cases are ordinarily lower due to delays in lab reporting.
Another 10 Kentuckians lost their lives to the virus, Beshear said.
Based around the trend, Beshear said it's unlikely that he will extend his executive order closing indoor dining at bars and restaurants. That order is set to end December 14.
