LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — While President Joe Biden said definitively thatthe pandemic is over, the Lexington Fayette County Health Department says it's more complicated than that.
"The President's words that the pandemic is over is completely different from saying that the virus is over," spokesman Kevin Hall said. "The virus is here. The virus has not gone away."
Spokesman Kevin Hall said he doesn't want to argue with the President's comments but that they did take folks by surprise.
"One of our staff members heard it on a call and thought the person was making a joke," he said. "We were caught off guard just like everybody was in public health it seems.
UK ER nurse Luke Bourland also said it's not up to himself to say whether the pandemic is over. And he agrees with Hall that the virus is definitely still here.
He said at UK, COVID-19 protocols are still in place. However, the overall number of patients coming to the ER is different.
There are more people coming in because there is more comfort and trust than there was just last year, according to Bourland.
"They may have had diabetes, maybe their blood sugar was high and they were too nervous to come into the ER because they felt like if I come in I might get COVID and now I think a lot more people feel a lot safer about it," Bourland said. "They trust us that we make sure that everybody stays safe and they can come in and get the care that they need and not be at risk for contracting COVID."
To continue to keep folks safe, Bourland and Hall say it's important to get the bivalent booster.
"Get vaccinated and take the steps to help slow this down," Hall said.
LFCHD is offering the Pfizer booster shot Thursday and the Moderna booster next Thursday at Consolidated Baptist Church. Details can be found here.
