Kentucky opened four regional COVID vaccination clinics Tuesday morning with thousands of people already lined up virtually for a limited number of shots. Current facilities in Lexington, Paducah and Danville quickly filled up for daily available doses. Governor Andy Beshear will announce four new locations on Thursday that will open next week, but state health officials recognize that demand far exceeds available vaccinations.
More than 600 people registered to receive a vaccine on Tuesday at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, the state’s first regional clinic. Officials expect to administer more than 3,000 doses a week to Kentuckians 70 and older. While the clinics are focusing on people in that age bracket, the regional clinics will also provide shots to others in the 1A and 1B tiers.
At Tuesday’s opening of the Lexington site, the governor warned that the state’s need continues to surpass supply. “We are vaccinating people faster than the federal government can get us doses,” he said.
In addition to the Lexington location, regional clinics opened on Tuesday at Lourdes Hospital and Western Baptist in Paducah and Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville. Beshear noted that more than 170,000 people called Ephraim McDowell in one day hoping to acquire one of the first 300 shots in Danville.
Kentuckians in approved tiers must have an appointment to receive a shot at any vaccination location. Lexington area residents can schedule an appointment for the Kentucky Horse Park at Kroger.com/covidvaccine or by calling 866-211-5320. You can learn about the Lexington location and other vaccination clinics at the state’s vaccine.ky.gov website. New appointments appear on the website around 6 a.m. EST daily. People who do not have computer access may call 855-598-2246 for help reserving a spot.
Governor Beshear extended Kentucky’s mask mandate on Monday for the sixth time since his original executive order on July 9, 2020. The governor also announced that most people can renew their driver’s license online at Drive.ky.gov/pages/covid19-updates.aspx. The website cannot process renewals for drivers with a change of name or address or if they need to take the driving test. Additionally, the website is not for vehicle registrations.
Monday’s report included the third straight week of decreasing numbers. Beshear pointed out, “That has only happened twice in this entire pandemic.” Monday added 1,623 new cases and 35 deaths. Kentucky’s positivity rate dropped to 8.85%.
