Ky. expects first coronavirus vaccines in mid-December, for long-term-care residents and staff, and some frontline health workers

State Department for Public Health chart, relabeled by Kentucky Health News

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

Gov. Andy Beshear announced Monday that Kentucky expects to get its first shipment of coronavirus vaccines by mid-December and is making plans for how to distribute it. 

"The light at the end of the tunnel is brighter than its ever been but we still have along way to go," Beshear said at his daily briefing – where he announced record numbers of covid-19 patients in intensive care and on ventilators, and another big jump in the percentage of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus.

Beshear said that as early as mid-December, the state expects to get 38,025 doses of the Pfizer Inc. vaccine, about a third of what it had expected, Health Commissioner Steven Stack said. Beshear said the vaccine supply had been overestimated, and states' allocations are based on population. 

He said 26,000 doses will go to residents and staff of long-term care facilities and 12,000 will be given to "front-line covid health-care workers" throughout the state. Beshear said the list of health-care facilities to get the vaccine is being finalized and will be submitted to federal officials by Friday. 

Beshear and Stack explained that it's important to target long-term care first because its residents and staff have accounted for 66 percent of the state's covid-19 deaths, and limiting hospitalization of residents will also decrease the burden on hospitals, since they require more care on average. 

"Our goal is to quickly vaccinate the most vulnerable parts of our population," Beshear said. 

The initial round won't be enough to cover all the state's long-term care facility residents or staff, or all health-care workers. The Louisville Courier Journal reports that Kentucky nursing homes have 27,600 residents and 35,000 staff, and hospitals employ 80,000. 

Stack, a physician, said the smaller-than-expected deliveries will require "difficult decisions." He said he has asked hospitals to place their employees in tiers based on which ones are most at risk of infection. 

Essential workers, educators and adults with very significant conditions would be next in line for the vaccine. Beshear said educators had been "elevated" in priority, and said earlier, "There’s gonna be a big priority on teachers because once we have teachers vaccinated, school is gonna be really safe."

To fight increasing spread of the virus, Beshear has banned in-person schooling in middle and high schools until Jan. 4 and in elementaries until at least Dec. 7.

In late December, the state expects to get 76,700 doses of the Moderna vaccine, and will distribute it in the same way as the Pfizer one, said Beshear.

Moderna applied Monday for an emergency-use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company said it anticipates the FDA advisory committee will discuss its vaccine Dec. 17, a week after it is set to discuss the Pfizer vaccine, with authorizations expected to come a few days after each meeting. Karen Weintraub of USA Today reports that the Moderna trial was conducted "to the gold standard" and explains why it is important to have more than two coronavirus vaccines. 

Beshear said the state is participating in a test-run of the vaccine with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure that the state's shipping and distribution plan is in good order. 

Kentucky's final plan depends on the actions of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which is scheduled to vote Tuesday on who should get the first doses. 

Other vaccines may be approved, but none of them will be available to most Kentuckians until next summer, said Stack. "We're going to have to make sure we get it to the people who need it the most, who will benefit the most and then work forward from there," he said. 

Stack warned, "We're not out of the woods yet," and said there is a real risk that between the "cold weather, holiday gatherings, increased travel, a fatigued public who has not fully complied with the mask mandates and with the social distancing," cases and deaths will continue to soar. 

Again, Stack called on Kentuckians to wear masks, socially distance and not socialize with each other "while the disease is so high," saying this is necessary to avoid overwhelming the state's hospitals.

"There are better days ahead, and as 2021 unfolds we have every reason to be very optimistic we'll end up in a better place," he said.

Beshear defended what he called his "aggressive actions" against the virus with a graph of daily covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people in Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky: "The distance between those lines . . . is how many more lives we are saving."

"I know it comes with sacrifice," he acknowledged, but said, "Our sacrifice, the difficulties we go through, is truly making a difference."

Beshear announced 2,124 new coronavirus cases on Monday, the second highest Monday for cases yet, with last Monday being the highest, at 2,135. Monday figures are usually low due to less testing and lab work on weekends.

The state's seven-day rolling average of daily new cases, the most widely used measure of the pandemic's trend, is 2,727, one less than it was Sunday. 

Beshear cautioned that cases could be under-reported because of the long holiday weekend, and "We may have a very large week this week or next."

The governor encouraged Kentuckians who gathered in large groups over Thanksgiving or who traveled over the holiday to act like they have the virus and get tested and to  "Please, please wear a mask." 

He said that's the advice of Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, who told The New York Times that if you traveled or met with people outside of your household for Thanksgiving, you should “assume that you were exposed [to the virus] and you became infected, and you really need to get tested in the next week.” She also urged them to avoid anyone in their family over 65 or with an underlying illness. 

The Lexington Herald-Leader provides guidance on when you should get tested in the wake of Thanksgiving. Experts told the paper that if you have symptoms, get tested right away, but those with no symptoms should wait at least five days because the average amount of time it takes to show symptoms after infection is five days – and many get the virus but no symptoms.

Daily numbers: The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the past seven days is 9.42%, the highest since testing became widely available in May.  

State Department for Public Health graph, adapted by
Kentucky Health News; for a larger version, click on it.

Covid-19 patients' use of intensive-care units and ventilators also hit new highs, at 421 and 229, respectively. Kentucky hospitals reported 1,741 covid-19 patients, just six short of the record set on Thanksgiving.

The state has begun reporting the total number of hospitalized patients in Kentucky, along with the total in intensive care and on ventilators. Its report shows 21% of hospital patients have covid-19, nearly 30% of patients in ICUs have the disease and nearly 38% of those on ventilators do. 

There were 12 more covid-19 deaths, bringing the state's toll to 1,908: two Caldwell County women, 74 and 86; a Daviess County woman, 50; a Fayette County man, 90; a Grayson County man, 68; a Jefferson County woman, 56; a Marshall County man, 77; a McLean County woman, 87; a Webster County man, 84; and a woman, 75, and two men, 67 and 75, from McCracken County.

The Herald-Leader reports that November is the highest month of coronavirus cases and covid-19 deaths since the pandemic began, with at least 71,822 cases reported in November and 433 deaths. 

In other coronavirus news Monday: 

• Counties with 10 or more new cases were Jefferson, 354; Fayette, 219; Kenton, 97; Daviess, 90; Warren, 82; Boone, 73; Oldham, 52; Pulaski, 46; McCracken, 45; Campbell, 43; Jessamine, 40; Boyle and Mason, 37; Bullitt, 36; Grant, 33; Henderson, 31; Scott and Shelby, 30; Boyd, Greenup and Marshall, 28; Barren, Caldwell and Christian, 27; Woodford, 24; Madison, 21; Lee, Pike and Taylor, 18; Graves, 17; Calloway and Mercer, 16 each; Floyd and Laurel, 15; Rowan and Wayne, 14; Henry and Simpson, 13; Hart, Magoffin and Montgomery, 12; Franklin, Hardin, Logan, Muhlenberg and Trigg, 11; Harlan and Ohio, 10.
• In long-term care, there are 2,259 active cases among residents and 1,252 among staff, with 445 resident cases and 292 staff cases reported since Friday. 
• Two more veterans at the state's Thomson-Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore died of covid-19, bringing its toll to 30. He said there are only two active cases left there, but the Western Kentucky Veterans Center in Hanson now has its first active case. 
• The state updated its travel advisory, which incudes 16 states that have a positive-test rate of 15% or higher. From highest to lowest, they are: Idaho, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Oregon, Oklahoma, Arizona, Utah, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada and Ohio. Kentuckians who travel to these states are asked to isolate for two weeks upon return. The state also recommends a 14-day self-quarantine for anyone returning from any international travel.
• Covid-19 patients are filling up rural hospital beds and making the staff sick, which is resulting in changes in how hospitals are staffing, with a greater reliance on agency supplied nurses, which come with a hefty price tag, Corinne Boyer reports for Ohio Valley ReSource. “They’re having to pay anywhere from four to 500% more than what they would normally be paying for an agency nurse,” Nancy Galvangi, president of the Kentucky Hospital Association, told Boyer. “And that is because Kentucky is in competition with other states, other states that can pay a lot more.”
• The owners of qualifying bars and restaurants in Kentucky that have been required to stop indoor service until at least Dec. 14 can apply for $10,000 grants from the Kentucky Food and Beverage Relief Fund. The $40 million allotted to the fund from federal relief money could help at least 4,000 establishments, Chris Otts reports for WDRB, adding that the money will not be distributed until Dec. 8, and will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis through Dec. 18. Beshear's news release said more than 2,000 applications had already been submitted, requesting nearly $19 million in aid.