2 million in KY have had the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Teens driving new cases.
Younger Kentuckians are driving new COVID-19 infections, Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday as he announced 580 new cases of the coronavirus and five more virus-related deaths.
“The incidence rate is much higher among younger Kentuckians than older Kentuckians,” Beshear said during a live update. “It’s directly associated with whether you’re vaccinated.”
New infections were most prevalent in kids ages 10-19, followed by 20- to 49-year-olds.
“We need to do better. These [vaccinations] work,” he said, referencing state Department for Public Health data that shows 97.5% of the people across Kentucky who tested positive in March and April were unvaccinated. Likewise, of the people who were hospitalized during those months, 94.3% were unvaccinated.
On Tuesday, a little over 2 million people — 45% of the total state population — are at least partially vaccinated. Last week, 74,553 people across the commonwealth got a shot. Four counties in Central Kentucky have the highest rate of vaccinations in the state — Woodford, Fayette, Franklin, Scott — where 50-60% of eligible residents have gotten their shot. Counties with less than 22% of residents vaccinated include Christian, Spencer, Ballard, McCreary and Lewis counties.
Vaccination rates statewide, as Beshear said, are lowest in Kentuckians under the age of 39: 42% of people ages 30-39 are vaccinated, compared with 31% of 20- to 29-year-olds. So far in Kentucky, 23,409 teens ages 12 to 15 have received at least their initial dose.
Earlier on Tuesday, makers of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine announced it was safe and effective for 12 to 17-year-olds and will seek emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make it available to teenagers. Right now in the country, only adults qualify for the Moderna and single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The FDA earlier this month approved use of the Pfizer-BioNTech in kids as young as 12.
If Moderna receives emergency authorization, it’ll mean younger Kentuckians can access doses in more places. Beshear said that expanded accessibility will be “really important, especially as we try to get all our kids vaccinated before they head into the next school year.”
As such, Kentucky’s coronavirus restrictions on businesses will soon come to an end. On Friday, businesses and venues serving fewer than 1,000 people can increase to 75% capacity (up from 60%) and the coronavirus curfew on bars and restaurants will end, Beshear announced earlier this month.
On June 11, most businesses can move to 100% capacity and virtually all restrictions implemented last year to stem the spread of the virus will end, including the statewide mask mandate. People who are fully vaccinated can forgo their masks now without waiting until June 11.
The state has seen three straight weeks of declining cases and positivity rates, the governor said. The rate of Kentuckians testing positive was 2.52% on Tuesday. The week over week decrease is not “especially large, but still, the trend line is going down, again,” Beshear said.
Visitation restarting in state prisons
After more than a year of no in-person visits, people housed in state-run correctional facilities will be able to see their loved ones face-to-face beginning the week of June 20.
Visitors, limited to two at a time, will need to show proof of vaccination, schedule their visit in advance, wear a mask and practice social distancing. Contact information for scheduling visits will be posted to the Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice websites on June 4.
This change doesn’t apply to county jails, since jails are operated locally, not by the state. Seventy-six percent of adult inmates in state custody are vaccinated.
“This is a setting where, if there is a [COVID-19] outbreak, we have seen it can be devastating,” Beshear said. “We are taking precautions while still opening up visitations”
This story was originally published May 25, 2021 at 4:22 PM.
