Gov. Andy Beshear and Dr. Steven Stack on Monday said the next priority group (Phase 1b) for COVID-19 vaccination will be Kentuckians who are at least 70 years old, as well as first responders and educators. Depending on the vaccine distribution schedule, Phase 1b could begin as early as Feb. 1, plus or minus a week.
“In Kentucky, we are going to include people who are 70 and older – that’s five years younger than the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended,” said Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health. “We believe here, because we have such a disproportionate burden of death in this population, we want to make the vaccine available as quickly as possible. We are also going to include first responders who haven’t been vaccinated in Phase 1a already, as well as K-12 school personnel.”
To date in Phase 1a, approximately 126,600 vaccine doses have been delivered to Kentucky. At least 22,500 vaccine doses have already been administered statewide: 17,752 to healthcare workers, 2,788 through local health departments and 5,796 to long-term care residents and staff.
For more information about Phase 1a and 1b, click here.
Stack clarified that Phase 1a includes all healthcare personnel in clinical settings, including Kentuckians who work in environmental services, front-line operations, interpretation services, dental care and home-based health care staff. Stack estimated that there are at least 200,000 Kentuckians included in this category.
Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander further updated Kentuckians on vaccinations in long-term care facilities.
“Walgreens and CVS have been able to provide vaccinations at more than 30 facilities,” Friedlander said. “This is a great start. We’re making a down payment on our promise to take care of the most vulnerable Kentuckians first. Also, those health care workers who have been in those facilities, who have helped and provided services to those residents all along, this is a way that we are able to prioritize those folks who have done the most for the most vulnerable.”
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