During today’s media briefing Gov. Andy Beshear announced Kentucky’s first allocation plan for both the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines beginning Dec. 13, as well as the population groups most likely to receive the vaccine. The news comes as the state faced a record spike in coronavirus cases, and a seven-day decline in the positivity rate.
Beshear said of the initial 38,025 Pfizer doses, two-thirds would be allocated toward long-term care populations, citing its vulnerability against the virus as a priority.
“It represents 66 percent of all fatalities we have in Kentucky, so eliminating that will be a major game changer,” he said.
Beshear said another third of the Pfizer vaccine would be delivered to frontline healthcare workers.
The Moderna vaccine, which will be released starting Dec. 20, will go to healthcare providers and educators. Beshear said vaccinating educators would allow for counties to have “larger and safer capacities” for in-person learning.
Beshear reported 4,324 new cases, bringing the total to 213,450 cases. There were also 28 additional deaths, bringing the total to 2,146. He said as of today there are 1,756 current hospitalizations, including 442 ICU (intensive care unit) cases and 231 people on ventilators. Beshear noted despite the record number of cases, he was hopeful for the future.
“Even with that, we are tracking 800 fewer cases than last week. Remember, we got to plateau before we can decrease,” he said. “We may also be seeing some of Thanksgiving and the impact in these numbers.”
The Calloway County Health Department reported 37 new cases today, bringing the total number of cases to 2,002. There have been 18 total hospitalizations, as well as 31 deaths. The positivity rate for Calloway County is also at 18.391%, according to the Murray-Calloway County Hospital.