Kentucky will move into Phase 2 of the state’s vaccination schedule on Monday ‒ opening the shot to anyone age 40 or older. Additionally, regional vaccine clinics will open in three new cities, and public health officials urge people to take advantage of vaccination sites that have open appointments.

Governor Andy Beshear stated on Thursday that some vaccination clinics are not filling every available slot for the COVID shot. The state will now communicate which of the state’s 573 locations have open appointments on the state’s vaccine website, vaccinemap.ky.gov.

New regional vaccination clinics will open in the following cities:

• Greensburg – Jane Todd Crawford Hospital
• Liberty – Casey County Hospital
• Paintsville – Paul B. Hall Regional Medical Center

Public health officials encourage people to get whichever vaccine they can acquire and not wait for a specific company’s shot to become available. State officials have said they intend to have the vaccine available to anyone 16 years or older by April 12, and they aim to have first doses administered to everyone who wants a shot by the end of May.

The number of new COVID cases continues to decline with Thursday’s reported 726 new cases representing the fewest on a Thursday since September 17. Thursday’s positivity rate was 2.92%.