Kentucky public health officials continue to develop a COVID vaccination plan as the supply of shots remains the biggest hurdle. Governor Andy Beshear announced that Kentucky will get a 17% increase in vaccination allocation next week, the state’s first increase. The federal government is also stabilizing Kentucky’s shipment. “We’re going to start getting a minimum guaranteed amount for three weeks,” Beshear told local elected leaders in a Wednesday morning meeting. A set number of vaccinations arriving each week allows health officials to better plan and schedule recipients.

The demand for vaccines is already high, and public health officials say it will only increase as Kentucky moves through its vaccination priority tiers. K-12 education personnel who want the vaccine should all have their first dose by the end of next week. Kentucky will then shift the priority focus to people over the age of 70 ‒ a classification that will require about 400,000 shots. The next tier, 1C, includes 1.3 million people.

Kentucky Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack stressed the need for patience. He added, “This is a daunting logistical challenge.”

Dr. Stack spoke in the Wednesday afternoon news briefing about two cases of the COVID-19 variant that were identified in Kenton County. They tested positive for the United Kingdom (UK) variant. Dr. Stack warned that while the UK strain is not more deadly, it is more contagious.

Wednesday’s report included 2,424 new cases, the lowest Wednesday in four weeks. The positivity rate declined to 9.35%, and the number of “red” counties dropped to 111 out of 120. However, the death toll increased to 3,495 with 47 new fatalities.