COVID-19 vaccinations now available to people in 1B at four Baptist Health hospitals
People eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine in the priority group known as 1B can now sign up for a shot at certain Baptist Health hospital locations, including Lexington.
Baptist Health Lexington, Louisville, Corbin and Madisonville are currently accepting appointments and providing vaccines to anyone in priority groups 1A and 1B, hospital spokeswoman Ruth Ann Childers said over the weekend.
Group 1A includes health care personnel and long-term care staff and residents. 1B includes people age 70 and older, K-12 personnel and first responders. Vaccines are becoming available for this second-tier priority group largely on a county-by-county basis.
Appointments can be made at scheduleyourvaccine.com.
The expanded availability comes days after the University of Kentucky announced it would open a vaccination site inside Kroger Field starting Tuesday to begin vaccinating those eligible priority groups. Others who don’t yet qualify can request an appointment by filling out an online questionnaire at https://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/covid-19/vaccine. Those scheduled for an appointment should park in the Blue Lot and check in at gate 11.
UK opened its sign-up site on Friday, and nearly 50,000 people signed up the first day. Unlike some hospitals, UK’s approach to allowing people to schedule appointments is two-fold: people sign up, specifying which priority group they belong to, and are added to a wait list. Once there is an opening and they qualify, they are called to come in and get a shot. Officials expects to administer up to 12,000 doses each week.
A complete list of sites offering vaccines in Lexington can be found at https://www.lexingtonky.gov/vaccines. Upwards of 28,474 doses have so far been administered in Fayette County. Vaccines are being given out at more than 30 sites statewide. A complete list, as well as online registration, can be found at https://govstatus.egov.com/kentucky-vaccine-map.
Gov. Andy Beshear has said the state aims to drastically speed up its rollout of the vaccine in the coming weeks as more populations become eligible. Kentucky is nearing the end of administering doses to people in 1A, and the governor has said he expects to finish inoculating K-12 personnel by the end of the first week in February, at which time people in 1C — essential workers, anyone age 60 and older, and people older than 16 with certain medical conditions — will qualify. In early February, Kroger will open an undisclosed number of regional “high-volume drive-thru vaccination centers,” Beshear announced last week. Registration for appointments at those centers will open Jan. 28 through a web page the state hasn’t yet launched.
As more people become eligible for a vaccine, sites administering doses are getting inundated with people wanting to sign up. All three Louisville hospital systems — Baptist Health Louisville, Norton Healthcare and University of Louisville Health — had to temporarily stop scheduling appointments over the weekend through the Louisville public health department. The city’s wait list had grown to 40,000 people since Friday, the Courier-Journal reported on Monday.
Though tens of thousands of people continue to sign up for a vaccine through UK, university officials said Tuesday afternoon they don’t anticipate needing to stop that appointment sign-up process.
“At this point, we have not been overwhelmed by the number of people wanting to get a vaccine, to the point where we would proceed with discontinuing sign-ups at any point in the near future,” said Dr. Ashley Montgomery-Yates, assistant chief medical officer at UK HealthCare.
People have already reported having trouble signing up for available appointments through Baptist Health. In Lexington on Tuesday morning, there were only about 40 available slots open, but more will be added in the coming days. Childers urged people who are eligible to check back regularly for openings.
Beginning on Monday, Jan. 18, all vaccinations scheduled through Baptist Health Lexington will be administered at the Mall at Lexington Green, in an indoor space next to Lens Crafters. Only people with an appointment qualify for a shot.
The site offers room for 16 vaccination stations, and staff expect to be able to immunize at least 400 people a day, said Dee Beckman, executive director of outcomes for the hospital.
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 10:08 AM.
