Kentucky expects to get about 115,000 doses from the COVID-19 vaccine in two shipments starting in December.
The commonwealth recorded more installments of COVID-19 in November than at every other reason for the pandemic. Medical experts expect those numbers will climb even higher in the coming weeks due to holiday travel, but it appears fortune has begun to show in the state's favor.
Kentucky is placed to get 38,000 doses from the Pfizer vaccine in its first shipment and another roughly 76,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine later in December, said Gov. Andy Beshear. That's about three times fewer doses than the state initially expected to get.
A coronavirus vaccine consists of a preliminary injection, followed by a booster shot. Beshear said boosters should arrive 3 weeks after the first batch of shots. Together, medical experts have found these vaccines to be more than 90 % effective.
“It's proof of modern medical science,” said Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Steven Stack.
Beshear said the very first doses of vaccine will go to particular healthcare workers and long-term care facility staff and residents with the goal of reducing deaths. Long-term care residents constitute almost two-thirds of COVID-19 deaths and need a greater quantity of resources when they're hospitalized.
“If we are able to cope with and vaccinate our residents and our staff we can cut off 66% of the deaths that we are seeing at this time,” Beshear said.
The state intends to finalize distribution plans and send these to the us government now. State health officials will also be participating in a mock delivery of the vaccine this week to prove the plan's effectiveness, Beshear said.
Stack hopes that by next summer, the vaccine is going to be available to most Kentuckians, but expects the rollout to take the majority of next year, he explained.
So there's light at the end of the tunnel, but we aren't there yet.
Kentucky reported 2,124 new installments of COVID-19 on Monday and the other 12 deaths.
Beshear said numbers might have been artificially low within the holiday, and expects reported cases to grow again now.
Case Information as of 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30:
- New cases today: 2,124
- New deaths today: 12
- Positivity rate: 9.42%
- Total deaths: 1,908
- Currently hospitalized: 1,741
- Currently in ICU: 421
- Currently on ventilator: 229
