Beshear unveils dozens of new locations for Kentuckians to sign up for COVID-19 vaccine
Gov. Andy Beshear announced 1,880 new cases of COVID-19 in Kentucky on Thursday and 36 virus-related deaths, lifting the state’s total number of confirmed cases to 384,903 and the death toll to 4,211.
The new daily case tally is the lowest number reported on Thursday in at least a month.
“We have declining cases, but we still have stubbornly high deaths,” Beshear said in a live update.
The rate of Kentuckians testing positive continues to drop, landing at 7.08 percent — the lowest since Nov. 6.
At least 497,256 people in the state have received their first dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. While the state is still primarily immunizing those in priority groups 1A and 1B, the state will shift its focus to 1C later this month, Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Steven Stack said. A piecemeal transition to 1C has already begun in some counties and providers are urged to prioritize inoculating those age 60 and older. Stack said expects the state to more fully shift to 1C by March 1.
Beshear unveiled dozens of new locations on Thursday where Kentuckians can sign up for a vaccine, including six new Kroger regional immunization sites in Franklin, Henderson, Union, Lawrence, Carter and Adair counties.
Additionally 10 Kroger stores, 15 Walmart locations, 78 Walgreens pharmacies and 47 independent pharmacies around the state will begin offering the vaccine. For more information about those sites, visit vaccine.ky.gov.
To sign up for a vaccine at Walmart, visit Walmart.com/CovidVaccine.
To register for a dose at Kroger, visit kroger.com/rx/guest/get-vaccinated.
To register for a vaccine at Walgreens, visit walgreens.com/topic/promotion/covid-vaccine.jsp.
Beshear didn’t say, specifically, when these sites would come online, but once they do, the state will have at least 156 different locations to get a shot. The governor has said, eventually, people shouldn’t have to drive more than one county away for access to a vaccine. The additional sites help propel the state toward that goal and will “ensure, especially as supply increases, that we are ready to get [shots] out quickly,” he said.
The state is also mobilizing to ensure “equitable access to a vaccine” by targeting outreach and certain resources to vulnerable and minority populations through a number of new initiatives, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman announced Thursday.
In Lexington, the University of Kentucky will offer four vaccine outreach clinics on consecutive Saturdays to target underserved populations who may be reluctant about getting immunized. Coleman did not immediately say when or where those clinics will be.
The state, through coordination with the Bluegrass Action Community Partnership, is offering free round trip transportation to either the Kentucky Horse Park vaccination site in Lexington, or the vaccine center at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville. Anyone living in the following 11 counties is eligible: Anderson, Boyle, Casey, Franklin, Garrard, Jessamine, Lincoln, Mercer, Scott, Washington and Woodford counties.
To reserve a spot on one of these buses, where masks are mandated, call 1-800-456-6588 at least 24 hours in advance of a scheduled appointment.
In Louisville, Norton Healthcare will offer a pop-up walk-in vaccine clinic for people ages 70 and older at St. Stephen Baptist Church and Bates Memorial Baptist Church. Coleman said those clinics are intended for those with transportation challenges or who are having trouble registering for a vaccine on the internet.
For information on where to find a vaccine near you, call 855-598-2246 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. For those hard of hearing, call 855-326-4654.
Rent, utility relief
The state is reviving its Healthy at Home Eviction Relief Fund, which will funnel an additional $264 million in rental and utility assistance for past-due and future bills in an effort to help renters avoid eviction.
Starting Feb. 15, eligible tenants can apply for rental and utility assistance to cover three months-worth of future payments, or to cover past bills dating back to April 2020. If approved, landlords and utility providers will receive direct lump-sum payments, Beshear said.
The first rendition of the relief fund, accessible from September to December of last year, distributed close to $15 million across 4,135 households.
This new fund, in partnership with the Kentucky Housing Corporation, will be paid for using the bulk of a $297 million coronavirus relief allocation Kentucky recently received from the U.S. Treasury Department. To apply in Fayette County, visit covid19renterhelp.org, and to apply in Jefferson County, visit stopmyeviction.org. For people living in all other 118 counties, sign up at teamkyhherf.ky.gov.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 4:55 PM.
