Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday said the state is expecting to receive approximately 38,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine as early as mid-December, with a larger shipment coming by the end of the month.
“The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter,” Beshear said. “That’s also why I need you to keep fighting.”
Separate vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna — both appearing to be more than 90% effective — are being considered for emergency approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
Pending approval, Beshear said Kentucky expects to receive 38,025 doses of the Pfizer vaccine by mid-December. He said the state would also receive 76,700 doses of the Moderna vaccine in late December.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines both require an initial shot followed by a booster shot, which Beshear said would be available later.
While the number of doses and allocation plan are subject to change, Beshear said roughly 26,000 of the state’s initial vaccine shipment will go to long-term care facilities for residents and staff most at risk. About 12,000 doses will go to hospitals to help inoculate health care workers.
“We have to make sure we get it to the people who need it the most and who will benefit the most,” said Dr. Steven Stack, Kentucky’s Public Health Commissioner.
Teachers, emergency responders and others deemed essential workers would be among the next group to get the vaccine, followed by adults with high-risk conditions.
Stack said it could be next summer before the vaccine would be available to the majority of the general population.
This week, the state is participating in an end-to-end exercise with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Pfizer and McKesson to test one shipment of an empty thermal shipping container and a mock ancillary kit to one clinic site, the University of Kentucky Medical Center. This test run will help the state prepare for the initial vaccine distribution to long-term care and health care facilities; the initial distribution will, in turn, prepare the commonwealth for even larger, more complex distributions in the months ahead.
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