Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear did not levy any mandates during Monday’s special-called discussion revolving around the fast-spreading “Delta variant” of the coronavirus.
He did, however, impress strong recommendations — based stalled vaccinations rates and the Commonwealth’s more-than-doubling of new COVID-19 cases over the last three weeks.
■ All unvaccinated Kentuckians should wear masks indoors when not in their home.
■ Kentuckians at higher risk due to pre-existing conditions should wear masks indoors when not in their home.
■ Vaccinated Kentuckians in jobs with significant public exposure should consider wearing a mask at work.
■ All unvaccinated Kentuckians, when eligible, should be vaccinated immediately.
Beshear had some strong notes on Kentucky’s progress against the coronavirus and the efforts built around the removal of mandates. With nearly 2.5 million Kentuckians owners of a complete vaccine card, more than 80% of those 65 and older are inoculated.
But those numbers tumble between the ages of 18-39. Per Beshear and CDC numbers, only 36% of Kentuckians aged 18-29 are fully vaccinated, and only 46% of those aged 30-39 are fully vaccinated.
And with the “Delta variant” now confirmed in all 50 states, Beshear is urging vaccinations as the key and critical recommendation.
More than 4 million doses of Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been administered in Kentucky since its been made available, but of Kentucky’s 120 counties, 110 of them have 50% or less of their population protected.
Trigg County, Christian County and Caldwell County are among the 37 counties with vaccinated populations of 40% or less. Vaccines opened to the general population, ages 12 and older, on April 5.
Between the weeks of May 31 through July 16, Beshear said the state’s health departments reported that 34 “cluster events” — parties, places of business, camps, areas of worship — and other gathered events traced out 335 new cases of COVID-19. Of those 34 events, 13 of them occurred between July 12-16.
Dr. Steven Stack, health commissioner for Kentucky, indeed noted new cases are rising at an observable rate. Only 152 new cases were confirmed on June 22. More than 800 new cases were confirmed on July 13.
Stack reports there’s currently a 6-to-1 ratio of persons unvaccinated vs. vaccinated in new cases rising in Kentucky.
Beshear noted another big concern of his moving forward: those under the age of 12, particularly in school settings. While the vaccine is currently unavailable for that age group, he noted some early studies have shown that kids are contracting COVID-19 at the same curve as those unvaccinated.
