FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Gov. Andy Beshear continues to call for Kentucky's vaccine rollout to move faster as more than 6,000 new vaccinations were reported Tuesday.
More than 66,000 Kentuckians had received their first dose of vaccine as of Tuesday, but that was far below the governor's new goal to have 90% of doses administered within seven days of delivery.
"This is mission number one for your executive branch of state government," Gov. Beshear said during his COVID-19 briefing Tuesday.
Gov. Beshear said the state plans to ramp-up its vaccine infrastructure in the coming weeks and months.
"We're gonna have to have larger regional sites in every area of the state," he said.
Those sites could include drive-throughs, hospitals or other providers.
Kentucky remains in "Phase 1A" of the vaccine roll-out. The state's vaccine phases are:
- Phase 1a: Long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, health care personnel
- Phase 1b: First responders, Kentuckians age >= 70, K-12 school personnel
- Phase 1c: Kentuckians age >= 60, anyone older than 16 with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highest-risk conditions for COVID-19, all essential workers
- Phase 2: Age >= 40
- Phase 3: Age >= 16
- Phase 4: Children under the age of 16 if the vaccine is approved for this age group (estimated to comprise 18% of Kentucky's population)
"Phase 1B" should begin in early February, Gov. Beshear said, but start dates for the remaining phases are difficult to predict.
"We're only receiving the information about how many doses we'll even have a week in advance," Governor Beshear said. "Without a full guaranteed schedule and also knowing what other vaccines may be approved...there is a limit to how far out we can project."
"Phase 1C" includes all essential workers as defined by the CDC:
Frontline Essential Workers
•Healthcare Personnel
•First Responders (Firefighters, Police)
•Corrections
•Education (teachers, support staff, daycare)
•Food & Agriculture •Manufacturing
•U.S. Postal service workers
•Public transit workers
•Grocery store workers
Other Essential Workers
•Transportation and logistics
•Food Service Shelter & Housing (construction)
•Finance
•IT & Communication
•Energy
•Media
•Legal
•Public Safety (Engineers)
•Water & Wastewater
It also includes anyone 16 or older with any of the following conditions:
•Cancer
•Chronic kidney disease
•COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
•Down Syndrome
•Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
•Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
•Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
•Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
•Pregnancy
•Sickle cell disease
•Smoking
•Type 2 diabetes mellitus
