Southern Baptist Convention opposes in vitro fertilization, passing resolution offered by head of denomination's Louisville seminary

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President
Albert Mohler spoke in a YouTube video on May 23.

UPDATE, June 15: For a New York Times story on how the resolution was developed, and its political ramifications, click here.

Kentucky Health News

The Southern Baptist Convention voted Wednesday to oppose the use of in vitro fertilization, in which many human embryos are created outside the body but only one or a few are implanted in the uterus.

The resolution, adopted at the denomination's annual meeting in Indianapolis, was offered by R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Andrew T. Walker, an associate professor of Christian ethics and public theology at the Louisville school.

The two "acknowledged that the issue is divisive even among strongly anti-abortion Christians, and that Republicans have leaped to preserve access to fertility treatments," reports Ruth Graham of The New York Times. She quoted from an interview in which Mohler said: “I want to do more than nudge Republicans who are against us on this. I want to call them out for their error and inconsistency.” He said IVF as commonly practiced is “as immoral as anything we can imagine if we state the proposition clearly, but a lot of evangelicals don’t want to state the proposition clearly.”

Mohler told Politico that he is “very frustrated” with Republicans who favor legislation protecting IVF: “A lot of them are responding out of political expediency, not out of moral principle. You can’t say on one hand life begins at fertilization and then on the other hand say but now we’re not so concerned about that in this other arena.”

 

After the Alabama Supreme Court outlawed IVF this year, Republican politicians there and in other GOP-controlled states scrambled to protect the process. A bill to protect IVF in Kentucky got no hearing, and state law on the topic is unclear. Action by Congress is unlikely because 60 votes woudl be needed to pass such legislation through the Senate.

The Southern Baptist Convention is Kentucky's largest religious denomination. As of 2021, 1.2 percent of births in Kentucky involved the use of assisted reproductive technologies, mainly IVF; the U.S. rate was 2.3%.

The resolution is not binding on any church or member. It asks Southern Baptists “to reaffirm the unconditional value and right to life of every human being, including those in an embryonic stage, and to only utilize reproductive technologies consistent with that affirmation, especially in the number of embryos generated in the IVF process.”

The resolution also urges Southern Baptists to “advocate for the government to restrain” actions inconsistent with the dignity of “every human being, which necessarily includes frozen embryonic human beings.” In other words, unusued embryos should be frozen, not destroyed.

"Although the process . . . often results in the destruction of unused embryos, many Southern Baptists see that as fundamentally different from abortion because the goal of fertility treatments is to create new life," Graham reports. Convention messengers, or delegates, "heard several emotional testimonies, some from Baptists who hoped to soften the language of the resolution."

Megan Messerly of Politico reports, "As evangelicals become more educated on the issue, they are largely falling into two camps: those who believe that IVF can be practiced ethically if no embryos are destroyed, and those who like Mohler and Walker believe IVF is inherently unethical because it separates conception from the act of sex between husband and wife. Walker, acknowledging the former view, noted the resolution was 'drafted to pass.' A last-minute amendment sought to make clear that IVF is permissible in some circumstances, but failed."

Vote counts were not announced, but a convention spokesman told The Wall Street Journal that the resolution passed overwhelmingly.

At a Monday luncheon "hosted by a new conservative Christian advocacy group with Southern Baptist ties, Mohler compared the nascent evangelical conversation around in vitro fertilization to the years after the Roe v. Wade decision, when Catholics led the anti-abortion movement and evangelicals were less attuned to the issue," Graham reports, quoting him: “We had to learn after 1973 as evangelicals. We had to learn how to get this issue right.”

The Southern Baptist Convention did not declare its opposition to abortion until several years after the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned itself in 2022 in a case styled Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

Rabbi at dedication of pandemic memorial says 'Denial can never cure disease, and ... distortions can never change facts'

Rabbi David Wirtschafter

Wednesday's dedication of the state's pandemic memorial closed with a prayer from Rabbi David Wirtschafter of Lexington's Temple Adath Israel, who first read his adaptation of Archibald MacLeish's poem "The Young Dead Soliders Do Not Speak," written about World War I. MacLeish had the soldiers say, "We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning. Wirtschafter said sculptor Amanda Matthews' work "challenges us to answer the question: 'What will these Covid deaths mean?' Whether they are for a new hope, or for nothing, is tragically not up to those who died, but it is up to us." Then he read his adaptation of MacLeish's work:

"The casualties of Covid do not speak.
Nevertheless, they are heard in the still houses. Who has not heard them?
They have a silence the speaks for them at night, and when the clock counts.
They say, 'We were your fellow Kentuckians, your neighbors, your countrymen, your co-workers, your family, your friends. We have died. Remember us.
They say, 'We weren't allowed to finish our lives. Covid finished them.
They say, 'We lost our lives, but who will bear witness to those who were lost?'
They say, 'Our deaths are not ours, they are yours. They will mean what you make them.'
They say, 'Whether our lives and our deaths will lead to real change and a new hope, or for nothing, we cannot say. It is you who must say this.'
They say, 'We leave you our deaths, Give them their meaning. We were your fellow Kentuckians, your neighbors, your countrymen, your friends, your co-workers, your family. 'We have died,' they say. 'Remember us.' "

In his closing prayer, Wirtschafter asked God to "guide our deeply divided state in the sacred cause of reclaiming our sense of common humanity. Teach us to overcome the anger, fear, hatred and recklessness that all too often made the hospitalizations and deaths higher than they had to be. Remind us that denial can never cure disease, and that distortions can never change facts."

Suit claims Morehead hospital refused to grant all requests from workers for religious exemptions from Covid-19 vaccine mandate

St. Claire Medical Center (Photo from The Daily Yonder)

A woman who says she was fired by St. Claire Medical Center for not getting a Covid-19 vaccine is suing the hospital in federal court, alleging that the Morehead hospital denied the religious exemption she claimed, and those of all other employees who claimed such an exemption.

Teffany Smith of Olive Hill filed the lawsuit in federal court, but cited the state law banning religious discrimination by employers. Smith, who was a lab assistant, says she was fired Sept. 15, 2021, the day that each hospital employee was required to be vaccinated.

The suit says Smith submitted an exemption citing several passages of Scripture and a letter from a pastor, Joyce Stapleton of New Life Victory Church in Olive Hill, who said the vaccine “violates laws put forth within us by a higher power at the time of conception. . . . We believe in healing and that is what our God provides.” The church website lists different pastors.

Smith also "alleges the hospital did not engage in a good-faith dialogue and consideration of proposed accommodations for not receiving the vaccine," Taylor Six of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. "St. Claire Healthcare officials did not respond to request for comment."

Beshear says current state of Ky. law on abortion is 'the most extremist in the nation' because of no rape or incest exceptions

Beshear talks about abortion. (Screenshot from Facebook)

By Al Cross
Kentucky Health News

The current state of Kentucky's law on abortion is "the most extremist in the nation" because it is bans almost all abortions with no exceptions for cases of rape or incest, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday.

At his regular weekly press conference, Beshear was asked for his reaction to the defeat Tuesday in Kansas of a constitutional amendment similar to one on the Nov. 8 ballot in Kentucky, which would negate a preliminary court ruling that two state abortion laws probably violate the state constitution's privacy and religious-freedom provisions.

The temporary injunction, issued by Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry in a lawsuit by the state's two abortion clinics, has been blocked by state Court of Appeals Judge Larry Thompson of Pikeville pending the court's consideration of an appeal and a request to toss the case to the state Supreme Court.

That makes abortion illegal in Kentucky, except to save the woman's life or prevent permanent damage to a life-sustaining organ, under a "trigger law" the General Assembly wrote to take effect if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision for abortion rights, which it did on June 24. 

"I believe that most Kentuckians view the current state of reproductive health in Kentucky as extremist," Beshear said. "I believe people should go thinking about that constitutional amendment with regards to the trigger law. . . . If that constitutional amendment passes, it will make the trigger constitutional, if it is not" under Perry's ruling.

"The trigger law is, I think, the most extremist in the nation," Beshear said. "It means that rape victims have no options. It means that victims of incest have no options. . . . They deserve options. I think the vast majority of Kentuckians agree the current state that we're under right now is extremist, and I don't think most people out there like extremism."

Beshear generally favors abortion rights, but not late-term abortions. He did not give a reaction to the Kansas referendum, in which voters defeated by 3 to 2 a constitutional amendment that would have negated a Kansas Supreme Court decision that said the state constitution creates a right to abortion.

The amendment on Kentucky's ballot would likewise negate Perry's ruling or any appellate-court ruling upholding it.

Beshear also did not respond to a question about The New York Times' state-by-state estimates of the likely outcome in similar referenda in each state, which predicted that the proposed amendment would be defeated, by a vote of 53 to 47 percent. Here's an adapted version of the Times map with its estimates; for a larger version, click on it.

Judge on state Court of Appeals issues temporary order making almost all abortions in Kentucky illegal again

A judge on the Kentucky Court of Appeals has issued an order that, in effect, at least temporarily bans abortions in Kentucky unless needed to save the woman's life or prevent permanent damage to a life-sustaining organ.

Judge Larry Thompson

Judge Larry Thompson of Pikeville granted Attorney General Daniel Cameron's request that he be allowed to enforce the "trigger law" the legislature passed to ban almost all abortions if the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which it did June 24, and another law banning abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy.

Thompson's order "temporarily countermands an order from Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry to suspend enforcement of the laws while a legal challenge is pending," explains Deborah Yetter of The Courier Journal. "Thompson's order will remain in place while the appeals court appoints a three-judge panel to consider Cameron's appeal and other matters, including his request that the case be transferred directly to the state Supreme Court for swifter resolution."

Perry's ruling found that the two laws violate the rights to privacy, self-determination and religious freedom established by the state constitution and court decisions based on it.

Thompson said in his order that abortions performed while a legal challenge is pending "cannot be undone."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, which represents Louisville abortion clinic EMW Women's Surgical Center, said it would appeal Thompson's ruling to the state Supreme Court.

"Cameron had asked the appeals court for an emergency decision to immediately lift the injunction and also transfer his appeal of Perry's decision directly to the state Supreme Court for faster resolution of his case seeking to enforce the two abortion laws," Yetter notes. "Neither law contains exemptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. . . . Physicians who violate the laws could be charged with a felony and subject to up to five years in prison."

Voters could decide the issue Nov. 8, when they consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would say the state constitution does not create a right to abortion or government funding of it.

State House sends the Senate an omnibus anti-abortion bill

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

After two hours of debate Wednesday, the state House passed an omnibus anti-abortion bill, dubbed "The Humanity in Healthcare Act" by its supporters and an intimidation tactic by its opponents. 

Rep. Nancy Tate presenting
SB3 on House floor. LRC photo.

House Bill 3 would strengthen parental-consent requirements, creates higher standards for judges to approve the abortion without parental consent, creates new restrictions for medication abortions, addresses the disposal of fetal remains and increases reporting requirements. 

The bill's main sponsor, Rep. Nancy Tate, R-Brandenburg, said it is not intended to eliminate abortions in Kentucky, asserting "We have already done that" in 2019 by passing a bill to ban abortion once a heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy. That measure has been suspended during a court challenge. 

"The intent of House Bill 3 is to ensure that while abortions are legal in Kentucky, we want them to be as safe as possible," she said.

The bill went to the Senate on a 77-20 vote.

The annual abortion report from the state Office of Vital Statistics says that in 2020, 4,104 abortions were recorded in Kentucky. Of those, 13 were performed on girls younger than 15 and 353 were on those 15-19. Most Kentucky abortions (2,421) were among women 20-29. Among other age groups; 779 among those 30-34; 399 among those 35-39; and 139 among those 40 or older.

Most abortions in Kentucky are now accomplished by medication that the Food and Drug Administration allows to be sent by mail. HB 3 would ban the mailing of such medication.

Tate said there have been 24 deaths and more than 3,000 serious injuries from taking these pills, but the Kaiser Family Foundation reports: "Medication abortion is a safe and highly effective method of pregnancy termination if the pills are administered at nine weeks’ ge­­station or less, the pregnancy is terminated successfully 99.6% of the time, with a 0.4% risk of major complications, and an associated mortality rate of less than 0.001 percent (0.00064%)."

Democrats stood one after another to question various provisions of the bill. A few of the Republicans who hold a supermajority in the House spoke in favor of it.

Rep. Josie Raymond said the bill was meant to "intimidate and erode" access to abortion in Kentucky.

"They continue to go against the wishes of the two-thirds of Kentuckians who support unfettered access to abortion," said Raymond, D-Louisville. "They work relentlessly to undermine the unruly and inevitable power of women by making it harder to get abortions. They erode, erode, erode our rights to try to wear us down and wear us out until we get too tired to fight."

Rep. Kelly Flood, who has been a parish minister for 10 years, said that the underlying premise of such bills is that "Women are not capable of moral decisions in their life. . . . We disagree. . . . I want you to know that the moral fiber of women can handle this." 

Flood, D-Lexington, added, "More and more and more governments and faith, people of faith like my faith, Unitarian Universalism, say, 'Yes, we understand that women are capable of moral decision making, including life and death, and that we will have your back to have a safe process to determine how you got pregnant. Was it a crime? Was it a violation by someone you love? Or was it a choice you made, and then something terrible happened where you got sick, and you couldn't carry the pregnancy to term?' Those are real reasons why abortion can be a compassionate act." 

Rep. Bill Wesley, R-Ravenna, said he was voting for HB 3 "on behalf of the child that has no voice," but Rep. Pamela Stevenson, D-Louisville, said a true pro-life agenda takes care of everybody from birth to death. 

"At what point do we get out of other people's bedrooms, other people's lives, other people's medical decisions and take care of the people that are here, the children that are in child care, foster care being abused, the children that go hungry every night, children that don't have parents, the children that want somebody to love them and can't be adopted," she said. "Why aren't we taking care of the people that are here?" 

Rep. Jeffery Donohue, D-Fairdale (Jefferson County), said he is an adoptive parent and doesn't personally support abortion, but it is not for him to make that decision for others.

"I do support the woman having a choice, or a young girl having a choice, with the doctor's input on it," he said, adding later, "This is not our task, it's not our responsibility." 

Rep. Jim DuPlessis, R-Elizabethtown, spoke in favor of the bills' additional parental-consent rules, saying he would want to know if his child was having sex, let alone planning to get an abortion. "Kids can't go get tattoo without our permission. Why? Why are we going to let them have an abortion without us knowing? It is the craziest thing I've ever heard." 

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, said that while most young people talk to their parents before an abortion, those who do not typically don't because of fear of harm, including being kicked out. Others, she said, may live in homes with parents who are "abusive, absent, addicted or otherwise dysfunctional." She added, "Evidence shows that laws requiring parental consent do not increase the rate at which young people tell their parents about pregnancies or abortion care."

Several amendments filed by Democrats failed, including one for exemptions in cases of rape or incest and another to make a religious exemption for Jewish women. Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, read from a statement from the National Council of Jewish Women in support of her amendment. 

Rep. Danny Bentley, R-Russell, falsely claimed during the floor debate that "Jewish women only have one sex partner" and that one of the abortion medications is the same chemical used in Holocaust gas chambers, so "To say that the Jewish people approve of this drug now is wrong."

The American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Louisville and the National Council of Jewish Women's Louisville Section condemned Bentley's comments in a statement Wednesday night, the Courier Journal reports. They said he "went on a bizarre, anti-Semitic rant."

Bentley apologized for his remarks: "I meant absolutely no harm in my comments today and sincerely apologize for any they caused. Last week we received a heartbreakingly sad reminder that anti-Semitism still exists in our society and I apologize if my comments today caused similar pain or any doubt that I stand with the Jewish community against hatred."

Pope Francis sees an "infodemic," says access to accurate information about the coronavirus and vaccines is a human right

Pope Francis (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

Pope Francis said Friday that an “infodemic” is spreading, defining it as “a distortion of reality based on fear, falsified or invented news.”

The head of the Roman Catholic Church said information based on scientific facts is a human right, and urged Catholic journalists to help people who were misled by false reports about the coronavirus and vaccines.

“To be properly informed, to be helped to understand situations based on scientific data and not fake news, is a human right,” the pope told members of the International Catholic Media Consortium on Covid-19 Vaccines.

He added that journalists and scientists should treat with respect those who believe falsehoods, and not put them in “ghettos.” "Instead, they should try to build bridges to those who need to hear scientific truths," Gaia Pianigiani reports for The New York Times.

Evangelical Christians should balance their faith in God with faith in science, evangelical pastor writes

By Paul D. Prather

I’ve been an evangelical Christian all my life, with the exception of my exuberantly misspent teenage years and early 20s.

Raised a Southern Baptist, the son of a Baptist preacher and a Sunday school teacher who hauled me to church three times a week, I later converted as a young adult, along with my parents and sister, to the even more enthusiastic charismatic/Pentecostal movement. I’ve been an ordained minister in that tradition 40 years.

I buy into all—OK, not all, but nearly all—of evangelicalism’s core tenets. I believe I’m saved by grace through faith in Jesus. I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. I believe in sharing my faith (something I’m doing at this minute). Heck, as I demonstrated in my 1996 book “Modern-Day Miracles,” I even believe in divine healing, prophecy and, yes, speaking in tongues.

Paul D. Prather

Despite all that, from childhood I’ve felt out of sync with my own people. I believe in God and the Bible and miracles, but I also trust science and secular experts. To me, those things don’t necessarily cancel each other.

I felt my old discomfort flare up again when I read about the recent death of Marcus Lamb, 64, a big-time televangelist killed by Covid-19. Lamb led his global Christian TV network, Daystar, “in spreading inaccurate information about coronavirus vaccines and instead promoting treatments that are not proven remedies,” wrote religion reporter Michelle Boorstein.

Lamb’s milieu was “a deep base of politics, conspiratorial thinking and a skepticism of anything that appears secular. And that makes frank discussion of Daystar’s activism against vaccines, even in the face of death, unlikely.”

The pandemic has brought evangelicals’ anti-science, conspiratorial thinking into fresh relief, but there’s nothing new about it. It dates back at least to the 1925 Scopes monkey trial over the teaching of evolution in public schools. Historians of religion mark this as a turning point. The Scopes debacle left a rancid taste in the mouths of evangelicals and their ultra-conservative cousins, fundamentalists, that has never abated.

Those earlier evangelicals and fundamentalists felt the national press and other wise-acre elites had intentionally, almost sadistically, abused them during the Scopes trial.

The arrest of John Scopes for teaching evolution was planned by civic boosters of Dayton, Tenn., in a misguided but good-natured attempt to promote the town, historian Garry Wills has written. Scopes volunteered to be the defendant, even though it wasn’t clear to anybody, including him, that he’d actually taught evolution.

In the evangelical view, secularists seized on this non-event as an opportunity to lampoon and discredit low-church Christians and wildly misrepresent their beliefs. (I’ve read a bit of the Scopes coverage, including that of influential newspaper columnist H. L. Mencken. It truly was reprehensible.)

Scalded by the experience, evangelicals withdrew into what commonly has been called the “evangelical ghetto,” where they nursed their wounds and preached to each other in an echo chamber. Some devolved into conspiracy theories. A hostility toward secular authorities and many things scientific has festered for a century. Thanks a lot, Mencken.

Some came to suspect the government was secretly controlled by communist atheists. Some obsessed over progressive denominations that didn’t share their theology. Some saw an ongoing media campaign against them. Others decided barcodes foretold the Antichrist’s rise. Everything rose from a nefarious plot. Nothing was what it appeared on the surface. This sort of thinking feeds on itself.

Then came Covid-19. Evangelicals have proved the most hostile of skeptics toward the disease, vaccines and public health efforts. It’s odd, kind of. Evangelicals historically have embraced technologies and products created by science. They were pioneers in their use of radio, TV, cable, communication satellites and the internet. When they have headaches, they take ibuprofen.

But now, when science might save their lives, a disproportionate number dismiss it as a deception from the devil or a plot by unbelievers, or both.

This is simultaneously tragic and infuriating. Even after all these years, it still won’t compute in my head.

Of course, I’m not the only evangelical who feels that way, thank God. There’s a terrific website called BioLogos, founded by evangelical and renowned geneticist Francis Collins, who led the Human Genome Project and directs the National Institutes of Health. BioLogos explores the complimentary roles played by science and faith.

BioLogos’ president, Deborah Haarsma, an astrophysicist with a doctorate from MIT, declares in one website article that Christ gives us hope, but science equips us to act. Elsewhere, she says God both inspired the Bible and created the universe. The natural laws by which the universe works—the subjects of science—reflect God’s mind.

The folks at BioLogos don’t see science as a threat, then, but as a blessing, even when the truths it reveals sometimes appear to contradict their theology. I agree. I believe in the Lord and simultaneously believe in vaccines and the methods scientists employ to develop them. Just because science did it doesn’t mean God wasn’t behind it. Science can be one way the Lord relieves us from suffering.

Sometimes science is the miracle.

Paul Prather pastors Bethesda Church near Mount Sterling. His email is pratpd@yahoo.com. This was first published in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Churches could be key to overcoming vaccine misinformation, resistance to perceived coercion by 'The Man' in Eastern Ky.

Pastor Billy Joe Lewis at his Leslie County church. (Kaiser Health News photo by Jessica Tezak)

The key to keeping Eastern Kentucky hospitals from being overwhelmed by Covid-19, the flu and other illnesses this winter may depend on rural churches helping vaccination campaigns, Sarah Varney reports for Kaiser Health News.

"In Leslie County, in the foothills of the rugged Pine Mountain ridge that anchors the state's eastern coalfield, gravel roads wind through thick forests blanketed with kudzu vines," Varney writes. "House by house, church by church, public health workers are trying to outsmart the fantastical tales spread on Facebook about the Covid-19 vaccines, while also helping residents overcome the everyday hurdles of financial hardship and isolation."

Leslie County has better full-vaccination rates than most counties in southeastern Kentucky: 46% of the population and 54% of the vaccine-eligible (12 and older). Clay County, to the east, has only 39% and 45%, respectively, despite special campaigns to get shots in arms. The region matches what national polls show tend to be the most adamant anti-vaccine part of the U.S. population, citing "tends to be disproportionately white, rural, evangelical Christian and politically conservative," The New York Times reports.

"Local health agencies have been eager to enroll churches in the all-hands-on-deck vaccination effort," Varney reports. "Some church leaders have refrained from encouraging vaccination, afraid of offending congregants in a state where mistrust of government intrusion runs deep."

But not Billy Joe Lewis, pastor of the Full Gospel Church of Jesus Christ on Cutshin Creek, which rises in the shadow of Pine Mountain and drains much of Leslie County.

"Lewis, who has thick silver hair and a luminous smile, spends long stretches of the day in prayer, and he says God told him to protect his flock," Varney reports. "When 'Sister Maxine' from the regional health department suggested a drop-in vaccine clinic in the church parking lot, Lewis says, he was all in favor. He promoted it from the pulpit and on the church's must-read Facebook page."

Lewis's sister in Christ is Maxine Shepherd, a regional health coordinator for the county and a member of his church since he started it in 1972. But his stand wasn't a personal favor. "We've still got to use common sense," he told Varney. "Anything that can ward off suffering and death, I think, is a wonderful thing."

He has seen both. "In recent weeks, Lewis held a funeral service for a 53-year-old unvaccinated former coal miner, suspended Sunday services after more members fell ill and, with a heavy heart, canceled Homecoming — a cherished yearly gathering of area churches that marks the fall foliage with a celebration of the gospel and shared faith," Varney writes.

Varney notes that getting people to vaccine sites in the region isn't as easy as it is in most places, because some people lack transportation. But another big obstacle is "the specter of coercion" in a region "where government directives have been met with derision," she reports.

"We do not like to be shoved," Louisa nursing-home owner David McKenzie told her. "We resent it, and we shove back."

In Lawrence County, the fully-vaccinated rates are 40% of the total and 48% of the eligible. Opposition to the vaccines there "is not overtly political so much as defiant," Varney writes.

"They're fearful of 'The Man'," McKenzie told her. "The Man could be your employer, it could be the government, it could be a newspaper reporter."

And there's another kind of fear, Varney reports, paraphrasing and quoting McKenzie: "People who boasted about refusing the vaccines cannot change their minds, or 'They'll look like they're weak, or they caved to The Man'."

Eastern Kentucky couple's deeply held resistance to coronavirus vaccines illustrate difficulty of getting enough people immunized

Kentucky Health News

One reason many Kentuckians are resistant to coronavirus vaccination is people like Josh Stacy.

“I feel there is more to it than just getting a shot,” Stacy told Brandon Roberts of Spectrum News. “The government doesn’t do anything with your best benefit in mind.”

Stacy's feelings about government are common in Kentucky. In a national poll, the state ranked second only to Minnesota in the percentage of people who said they weren't vaccinated or planning to be because they distrust government.

Tomi and Josh Stacy (Photo provided to Spectrum News)

Stacy also has reservations based on religion.

“I’m a Christian, and I also think that this is going to lead to other things,” he said. “I’m not saying this vaccine is the Mark of the Beast, but it can lead to that. It says in the Bible [the Mark of the Beast] will be placed in your right hand or forehead. We haven’t gotten that far yet, but it is leaning that way. You won’t be able to buy or sell anything without the mark.”

Roberts interviewed Stacy, a fellow Pike County native, to localize a story about another national survey that showed rural parents have more reservations about the vaccines than those in cities and suburbs. Stacy, 43, asked that his exact address and occupation not be reported, Roberts told Kentucky Health News.

Stacy "has lived and worked in the mountains of rural Eastern Kentucky his entire life," Roberts reports. "He and his wife, Tomi, are the parents of two daughters, ages 13 and 5. He said none of them have gotten or will get the vaccine. . . . Stacy’s doubts about the vaccine have only intensified recently, as his vaccinated mother and stepfather are currently battling Covid-19."

Stacy told Roberts, “There is not a 100 percent guarantee you will not contract the virus even with the vaccine.” That is true, but unvaccinated people are about four times more likely to catch the virus, and about 10 times as likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19.

Stacy also said, “It’s not like chickenpox, tuberculosis, or anything like that. This virus is man-made, and I feel that the government and certain elites in this country are about population control.” U.S. intelligence agencies have ruled out the possibility that China developed the virus as a bioweapon, "but the agencies failed to reach consensus on the virus origin, according to key takeaways from a classified report delivered to President Biden," The Washington Post reports.

Stacy's concern about the Antichrist ("the beast" in the Book of Revelation) is common in many fundamentalist churches that regard the book as prophetic about modern times, and Kentucky is more religious than most states. "Stacy's faith . . . plays a significant role in his decision not to get the vaccine. Strong adherence to one’s religion is prevalent in rural America, but was not a factor the study considered," Roberts reports for Spectrum News, a service of cable-TV firm Charter Communications.

The study found that rural parents shared the same concerns as parents in cities and suburbs, but to greater degrees. They were 10 percentage points more likely than urban parents to say they were concerned that the vaccines have been tested enough (58% to 48%), nine points more likely to wonder whether the vaccines actually work (51% vs. 42%) and what long-term health effects they might cause (56% vs. 47%), and eight points more likely say they were concerned about how new the vaccine is (52% to 44%).

The survey was conducted online by researchers at Northeastern University, Harvard University, Rutgers University and Northwestern University June 9 through July 7 among 20,669 people, using quotas to reflect race, ethnicity, age, and gender in each state. The data were weighted using data for race, ethnicity, age, gender, education, and residency in urban, suburban or rural areas. It was funded by the National Science Foundation.

Is it your time? Only if you let it be; the Lord works in mysterious ways, except when He doesn't, writer says, urging vaccination

This photo, by Nicole Hester of mlive.com,
appeared with Whitmire's column on al.com.

By Kyle Whitmire
Alabama Media Group

I was 10 years old when my mom died. She was killed in a single-car accident on a lonely road driving home from a work trip in Montgomery. Someone nearby heard the wreck but no one saw the accident. Nobody could explain how it happened.

But I’ve always known why she died.

I’ve written several times about the lessons she left with me and how that tragedy has colored many things in my life — from how I look at life and death to the way I never pass up a chance to tell my wife or my children that I love them.

There’s one thing, though, I’ve kept to myself — the why.

In the days and years after the accident, there were plenty of well-meaning people who offered unsolicited explanations, mostly a lot of God-talk.

It was the Lord’s plan.
He needed her more than we did.
We all have a day and an hour.
And so forth.

When I reflect on it now, I realize all those benign aphorisms are horrible things to say to any child in grief. Who wants to hear that God killed your mom? Is that really supposed to help?

But I never resented those folks, first because I understood they were well-intentioned. And second, I already knew why my mom died in that wreck.

She refused to wear her seatbelt.

Mind you, she made me wear mine. I was born a little early for boosters in back seats, but she always made me strap in. When I fussed and asked why she didn’t wear hers, she would always come up with an excuse, usually having to do with her height. Sometimes she’d argue that, for a five-foot person like her, seatbelts made driving more dangerous. But those excuses were just that — excuses.

The simplest explanation is usually the correct one. And this one doesn’t complicate things with amateur theology or deciphering the divine plans of a mysterious deity.

She died because she didn’t wear her seatbelt. That’s it.

I didn’t suppress that bit of knowledge but I never said it out loud, either, until recently.

My son was fussing about the straps of his car seat when I heard the buckle unhitch behind me in traffic. And I let loose what I hadn’t had the temerity to say in 34 years. He got quiet. The message got across.

I love my mom and I miss her. Not a day goes by I don’t think about her, especially now that I have children of my own. But I do blame her, just a little. I wish she’d lived to play with her grandkids.

However, learning from hard lessons is how you claw back life from tragedy. It’s how you keep going. It’s how you grow old enough to play with your grandkids.

But I see a lot of folks driving around right now with their seatbelts unfastened, in a manner of speaking. Of course, I’m talking about vaccines. And Covid-19.

Also, a lot of messy religious talk that’s getting in the way of simple truth.

Since the outset of the pandemic, I’ve read stories littered with the same old lines from years ago. Sometimes it’s a grief-stricken attempt to explain why a loved one died. Other times, it’s an excuse-ridden rationalization for unnecessary risk-taking.

We all have to go some time.
Everyone has a day and an hour.
When it’s your time, there’s nothing you can do about it.

Call it Final Destination Syndrome. Like the premise of that 2000 horror flick, there’s a pernicious belief that there’s no cheating death when it’s your time. If you don’t die of Covid, it could be a heart attack, or if not a heart attack then a freak accident. It’s a defeatist belief masquerading as faith. It pretends to be a sort of spiritual surrender, but really, it’s Russian roulette. It’s recklessness dressing up as religion.

And there are too many pastors unwilling to refute it. Some are spreading it. And polling has consistently shown white Evangelicals among the most vaccine-hesitant, if not downright stubborn.

Earlier this month, a reporter from Politico asked nearly a dozen Southern pastors what they were telling their congregations about the Covid vaccines. Many said, nothing.

“If I put forth effort to push it, I’d be wasting my breath,” said Nathan White, the pastor of Liberty Baptist Church in Virginia. The issue had become too polarizing, he argued.

That hasn’t stopped others from pulling in the opposite direction. This week a Nashville-area pastor, Greg Locke, called Covid a hoax and told his congregation that, if they wore masks to church, he’d ask them to leave. “Don’t believe this delta variant nonsense,” he said. “Stop it!”

Others have, sadly, taught Covid’s lessons through tragic examples, as Bishop Gerald Glenn did when he encouraged his congregation last year to ignore Virginia’s warnings about mingling in large crowds.

“I firmly believe that God is larger than this dreaded virus,” he told them. And then he died from it.

None of this is to bash religion. Far from it. Rather, it’s time to quit blaming God for our mistakes.

Faith and medicine need not be incompatible things. In fact, the Bible itself admonishes those who would tempt the Lord, demanding miracles of God when there are practical solutions right in front of us. It’s OK to pray and take the shot.

And if pastors are afraid of polarizing issues, do they not preach about heaven and hell? What’s more polarizing than death?

There’s a joke I’ve seen going around again lately, but I was a boy when I first heard it from the pulpit in my church.

A flood strikes a small Southern town, where an old pastor sits rocking on his porch when the neighbors pull up with an aluminum fishing boat. They plead for the preacher to get in, but he insists he’ll be fine.

“The Lord will take care of me,” he tells them.

The water rises. The preacher is on his roof when the sheriff’s department arrives with a rescue boat. But again he declines.

“The Lord will take care of me,” he tells them.

The water rises. The preacher is standing on his chimney when the National Guard flies overhead in a helicopter. They drop a rope ladder to him. But he waves them away.

“The Lord will take care of me,” he shouts before they fly on.

An hour later the preacher arrives at the Pearly Gates, where St. Peter asks what the heck he’s doing there. The preacher is confused, too. He says he thought the Lord would take care of him.

“Well, we sent two rowboats and a helicopter,” St. Peter says. “What more did you expect?”

The Lord works in mysterious ways, except when He doesn’t.

Trust in God. But wear your seatbelt. And get that shot.

Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group, 2020 winner of the Walker Stone Award for editorial writing, the 2021 Society of Professional Journalists award for opinion writing, and the 2021 Molly Ivins Prize for political commentary.

Baptist seminary president's guidance to Christians on vaccines still drawing high readership, eight months after publication

When the first coronavirus vaccine was released in December, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler published an article in Kentucky Today, an online news service of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, giving Christians the green light for vaccination. Almost eight months later, as vaccinations in Kentucky fall short of public-health goals due to resistance, his article is still one of the most-read on the KT website.

Albert Mohler

Mohler begins by comparing development of the vaccines to the moon landing, then offers seven points for Christians to consider as they decide whether to get vaccinated or not.

First, he rejects the line of thinking that if God wants someone to have the virus, they will get it no matter what they do. "That kind of logic, if pressed to its logical conclusion, however, is untenable—we wouldn’t treat any sickness, cancer, or injury," Mohler writes. "Medical treatment is an extension of God’s common grace and Christians have always understood this. That is why, throughout history, where you found Christians, you found hospitals and the church treating the sick."

Then Mohler tackles one of the obstacles most discussed among evangelicals, that a vaccine was developed with tissue from an aborted fetus. "There was a use of fetal cell lines . . . derived from an abortion in the Netherlands in the 1960s," he writes. "How then ought Christians think about all of this? First of all, we must condemn in the strongest of terms the use of any tissues from aborted human babies. That is a nonnegotiable issue for Christians as we consider medical advances and treatments. There are, however, complexities involved as Christians contemplate these incredibly serious moral questions. Specifically, with the issue of the Covid-19 vaccine, Christians need to understand that no step in producing these vaccines had any direct involvement in an abortion of a single child. There is also the issue of proximity. The further you go in history, the harder it is to keep a clear line of culpability in morally significant events. That said, the good news about the Covid-19 vaccines is that even as these cells were used to create the basic shape of the vaccine, no fetal tissue was used."

Mohler continues, "A horrifying wrong was done—but that does not mean that good cannot come from that harm, even as it is a good tainted by the realities of a sinful world. This idea is expressed, for Christians, as the doctrine of double effect. Some actions have more than one effect. For Christians, the primary intention must aim at virtue and good. The intention behind an act must never seek harm or evil or any moral reality and outcome against God’s will. We must never be complicit in intending sin, and certainly this applies to every dimension of abortion. But the Christian also acknowledges a potential double effect, for every moral act can lead to consequences not intended, but unavoidable. If the abortion of even a single human baby was required for this vaccine, or if abortion-derived materials were included in the vaccine, Christians would be rightly outraged. This is not the case. The vaccine can be taken by pro-life Christians with legitimacy."

Mohler then endorses the vaccines' efficacy and safety, says it was appropriate for those at greater risk to have the first access to them, and says it is doubtful that they will be made mandatory; but he objects to any law or regulation that would allow a minor to be vaccinated without parental knowledge.

His other major point addresses what he calls "the common good—the issue of love of neighbor," a theme that Gov. Andy Beshear, an active member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has frequently sounded, though not always in a religious context, to advocate vaccination.

"There are third parties—people who cannot take the vaccine or do not yet have access to it—that could still be infected by those who refuse to take the vaccine," Mohler notes. "The common-good argument is extremely powerful in the Christian tradition. Indeed, it is the second greatest commandment listed by Jesus Christ: to love our neighbors as ourselves. The general principle of the common good comes down to benevolence, love, care for others, laying down personal priorities for the service of others. Christians thinking about the issue of the vaccine must weigh this key biblical principle as part of their thinking."

As case numbers and positive-test rates tick up, Beshear warns a fourth wave is possible, pleads with Kentuckians to get a vaccine

Kentucky Health News graph from initial, unadjusted daily case reports

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

Citing rising case numbers and percentage of positive tests, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday, “It is at least a warning that a fourth wave is possible here. . . . We can prevent it. We should prevent it. It requires people to get vaccinated and continue to mask up."

 

The state reported 834 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the seven-day rolling average to 614, which is higher than yesterday, but lower than Tuesday (although that included last week's backlog). The average is now what it was on March 25. 

"There's reason to be concerned, with so many other states seeing an uptick in cases," Beshear said. "We are so close to the end, and . . . now that we have vaccines, there's no excuse not to get everyone to the finish line. Let's make sure that a family doesn't have to grieve because we weren't willing to wear a mask for the last month, month and a half, we weren't willing to do what it takes to get there; we weren't willing to get our own vaccine, not because we were against it, but we just didn't think this thing would hurt us in particular. Let's make sure that we continue to do the right things." 

Beshear said 166 of Thursday's new cases were in Kentuckians 18 and younger, and that 47 of those were between 16 and 18, an age-group that recently became eligible for vaccination. 

The percentage of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the past seven days is "ticking up and up and up," said Beshear. Thursday, it was 3.45%, higher for the sixth day in a row. 

The seven-day average of daily new cases has gone up nine days in a row, from a low of 9 cases per 100,000 residents on April 6. On Thursday, that rate was 12.23 cases per 100,000 people, the highest it's been since mid-March. The New York Times data tracker ranks Kentucky's rate 35th among the states.

Counties with rates double the statewide rate were Bracken, 55.1 cases per 100,000 residents; Lewis, 47.4; Bath, 43.4; Harlan, 39; Mason, 34.3; Wolfe, 33.9; Robertson, 27.1; Morgan, 26.8; and Todd, 24.4.

Hospital numbers were down a bit today, but Beshear noted that they starting to trend up a bit. In Kentucky 416 people are hospitalized with Covid-19, four fewer than yesterday, with 102 of them in intensive care (down 13); and 49 of those on a ventilator (down two). 

Two of the hospital readiness regions have 80% or more of their intensive-care beds occupied: Lake Cumberland, at 80% and the easternmost region, from Pike County to Lee County, at 83.8%. 

Beshear said 1,662,924 Kentuckians have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, with 46% of those 16 and older having received at least one dose, and 48% of those 18 and older. 

Beshear has said he will lift capacity limits on most businesses and activities when 2.5 million Kentuckians receive at least one dose of a vaccine, which is 70% of the state's adult population.  

"We're not trying to set a goal to force anybody to do something, that just is when it becomes safer," he said. "It's math and science. Math and science aren't political." 

He said 877,076 more Kentuckians are needed to reach that goal, and with 499,735 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech and Moderna vaccines available this week, "We can get more than halfway of the distance left to get to our 2.5-million vaccination challenge and lift restrictions this week if everybody would go out and sign up." 

That would be almost a quadrupling of the state's recent vaccination rate. Over the last three weeks, 125,000 to 130,000 Kentuckians were vaccinated each week. 

In noting vaccination sites with many open slots, he pointed to the Christian County Health Department, which serves in a county that has state's second- lowest rate of fully vaccinated people: 12.4%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Spencer County remains last, at 11.1%. Woodford County has the highest rate, 37%. 

Beshear stressed that there are thousands of vaccine slots available in every region of the state. Click here to find a location near you. "Remember, we are in a race against these variants," he said. "We have to vaccinate and as quickly as possible."

Calling it a miracle, Beshear noted that vaccines have virtually eliminated Covid-related deaths in long-term care facilities. He added that deaths in all congregate settings, which include prisons, have dropped from 68% of the state's total at one time to under 38%. 

The governor reported only four new resident cases and six new staff cases in long-term care facilities, for a total of 48 active resident and 79 active staff cases. He reported no new deaths. So far, there have been 2,281 Covid-related deaths in long-term care. 

Beshear reported 17 new deaths from the virus on Thursday, all of them from regular health-department reports and none from an ongoing audit of death certificates. That brings the total to 6,302.

The fatalities included two Barren County men, 40 and 61; a Bell County woman, 66; a Caldwell County woman, 49; a Clinton County woman, 83; a Cumberland County man, 89; A Garrard County man, 83; a Grayson County man, 70; a Henderson County woman, 73; a Jessamine County woman, 61; a Laurel County woman, 68; a Madison County man, 63; a Meade County woman, 68; a Mercer County woman, 85; a Muhlenberg County woman, 44; a Pike County man, 56; and a Whitley County woman, 83. 

Gill Scott

Memorial: Today, Beshear honored the life of Gill Scott, who died from Covid-19 on March 26. Beshear said Scott was one of nine children and was born and raised in Adair County. He moved to Louisville as a teenager, where he met and married his wife of 60 years, Mary. Beshear said Scott loved his family, the outdoors and God. 

"Remember, these are the souls that we lose right now in the fourth quarter in defeating this virus. If we let up, we lose somebody special," Beshear said.

Based on CDC data that estimates the biweekly prevalence of variant cases among more than 40,000 genomic sequences done Jan. 3 to March 27, Becker's Hospital Review reports that the proportion of the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the United Kingdom, is 18.7 percent in Kentucky. It is the dominant variant in the U.S.

Using the CDC data tracker, Becker's ranks Kentucky 19th in percentage of distributed vaccines that have been administered, 80.46%. It ranks Kentucky 21st for percentage of residents fully vaccinated, 24.87%.

In other pandemic news Thursday: 

• Counties with 10 or more new cases were Jefferson, 149; Fayette, 54; Warren, 49; Daviess, 33; Henderson, 29; Boone, 24; Kenton, 20; Harlan, 18; Christian, 17; McCracken, 16; Hardin and Mason, 14; Bracken and Oldham, 13; Clark and Knox, 12; Pulaski, 11; and Jessamine, Logan and Whitley, 10. 
• Alex Acquisto of the Lexington Herald-Leader takes a deep dive into the myths and challenges faith leaders in Harlan County have dealt with as they work to get their followers vaccinated. “A lot of people are worried about control. That the mask mandate, the social distancing, right down to the vaccine [are ways] they think that the government is out to control them,” Sean Daniels, pastor at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Cawood, told Acquisto. “People really don’t like to be told what to do.”
• The Herald-Leader offers tips on to avoid scammers who are targeting Americans who need help paying for funeral expenses for loved ones who have died from Covid-19. 
• McClatchy News reports that a top Food and Drug Administration scientist has said that coronavirus vaccines should provide protection against Covid-19 for at least nine months, and a booster shot may become necessary after that. 
• Sarah Ladd of the Louisville Courier Journal writes about what the pause in Johnson & Johnson vaccine means for Kentucky. 
• University of Louisville researchers have received $8.6 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for coronavirus wastewater research, WDRB reports. Researchers are already testing wastewater for coronavirus in Jefferson County, which will help them estimate how many people in the neighborhoods being tested have the virus. “This could revolutionize the way we track and contain pandemics, and not just Covid-19,” said Aruni Bhatnagar, a U of L professor of medicine. “It gives us an invaluable tool that could offer a clearer view of where and how the virus spreads.”
• The CDC told CNN that about 5,800 out of nearly 77 million people vaccinated for the coronavirus have contracted Covid-19 afterward. Of those, 396 have required hospitalization and 74 have died. CNN reports that the CDC will be looking for clues about who is most prone to become re-infected despite having been vaccinated. "Vaccine-breakthrough infections were reported among all people of all ages eligible for vaccination. However, a little over 40% of the infections were in people 60 or more years of age," the CDC said. Questioned about Kentucky, Beshear said he did not have an exact number of "breakthrough" cases in the state, but said there had been "a couple."
• Click here for Thursday's press release that includes an unemployment-insurance update, including information about the 13 regional career centers opening to in-person appointments, federal tax refunds, and the temporary shutdown for security reasons over last weekend.
  

In Harlan County, pastors reassure church members about coronavirus vaccines, debunk myths and set examples to follow

Pastor Buddy Simpson at the Wallins Church of God
(Herald-Leader photo by Silas Walker)

Evangelical leaders in Harlan County are increasingly "getting peppered with fear-based questions from their congregations and community about the vaccine, which they try to gently bat down," Alex Acquisto reports for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

"As the state strives toward herd immunity — once 70-85 percent of the population is inoculated — public-health experts believe trusted community leaders are vital to diffusing vaccine hesitancy. And in a state like Kentucky, faith leaders often carry more sway than elected leaders."

Kentucky is deeply religious, and its southeast is particularly so. About half the Christians in the state identify as evangelicals, a group that polls have shown widespread concerns about getting vaccinated. "It’s not likely to help overall hesitancy that the federal government asked on Tuesday — and Kentucky agreed — to halt its use of all Johnson & Johnson vaccines after six women in other states developed blood clots within two weeks of getting the shot," Acquisto reports.

Gov. Andy Beshear has launched vaccine-promotion campaigns targeting the state's religious population, but many still hesitate to get vaccinated. Some are unsure whether the vaccines are safe, overwhelmed by the glut of conflicting information from social media and other sources. Some are worried about government overreach "because they don’t trust a government they think manipulated information to rig the most recent presidential election — a falsehood that former President Donald Trump has continued to repeat," Acquisto reports.

“There’s a lot of what we call false doctrine that’s being taught,” Friendship Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Sean Daniels told Acquisto. “I’m not saying any particular church in Harlan County teaches that. But it’s just a conclusion of a lot of the conspiracies and things they’re reading on the internet.”

In their efforts to fight the pandemic, Harlan County pastors have mostly "spoken in a unified voice, both about adjusting their definition of church during the pandemic and, now, receiving the vaccine," Moomey reports. "In many ways, faith leaders have acted as translators, helping people who look to them for guidance discern between what’s true and false." 

Many pastors advocate a subtle approach. Pastor Buddy Simpson of the Wallins Church of God, who is fully vaccinated, encouraged his congregation to pray about it and decide for themselves, but also told them he believes vaccines are the safest bet. And Carl Canterbury, an EMT and traveling minister, "doesn’t talk about the vaccine from the pulpit, but if asked, he’ll tell. And many in his church have asked," Acquisto reports. He told her, "So many people think it’s a conspiracy, and they want to know, are you getting it? The day I had my shot, I had four members in our church to stop by and ask, did I take the shot, and I told them, yes. Because I did, they did."

Governor finalizes school reopening rules, makes them only advisory for private schools; all pandemic metrics down for day

State Dept. for Public Health map, relabeled by Ky. Health News; to enlarge, click on it.

By Al Cross

Kentucky Health News

As the novel coronavirus ebbed slightly in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear finalized rules for reopening schools, and made them only advisory for private schools, precluding a renewed battle in federal courts.

In a press release, Beshear announced 3,179 new cases of the virus, 14 percent less than the previous Friday. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases is 2,884, which is 2.5% below Thursday's figure. Hospitalization figures, which are steadier, were lower on all fronts: 1,712 Covid-19 patients in Kentucky hospitals, 410 of them in intensive care and 227 of those on ventilators.

The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the past seven days also remained steady, at 8.59%. 

Beshear announced 28 additional deaths, well over the average of 21 for the last month but well below the record 54 he announced Thursday.

The governor issued an executive order finalizing his plan for school reopenings in the new year, which he outlined Monday. The order begins by saying it applies to all K-12 public schools but "It is also recommended that all private schools follow these provisions."

Beshear's Nov. 18 order banning in-person instruction until Jan. 4 applied to all schools, prompting a lawsuit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which sat on the case long enough to say Thursday that it was largely moot because the holiday break was arriving.

The latest order allows schools in red zones -- counties averaging at least 25 new cases of the virus per 100,000 population -- to open Jan. 4 if they follow new safety guidelines and have "meaningful virtual options for all students" but recommends that they not open until Jan. 11.

Beshear said Monday that he recommends waiting another week because the virus has a 14-day incubation period, and public-health officials fear increased spread of the virus during Christmas holidays.

The plan adjusts the recommendations for counties in red and orange zones, primarily by asking schools in those counties to implement "more aggressive" hybrid learning to reduce the number of people in school buildings. Schools must accommodate employees who fall into a high-risk category with a virtual option.

Friday, Beshear reminded Kentuckians to follow new holiday guidance that the health department issued Thursday.

“Christmas is probably my favorite day of the year, and I know we all want to celebrate the way we usually do, but this year we need to do things differently,” he said. “With vaccines arriving this week, we can see the bright light at the end of the tunnel. Now we just need everyone to keep doing their part to protect one another.”

In other coronavirus news Friday:

• The 28 latest Covid-19 fatalities were a 64-year-old woman from Boyd County; two Christian County men, 67 and 71; a Clark County man, 75; a woman, 92, and a man, 84, from Fayette County; a Graves County woman, 93; a Greenup County woman, 71; a Hardin County man, 70; two Hopkins County men, 54 and 86; a woman, 95, and five men, 58, 74, 77, 77 and 79, from Jefferson County; a Johnson County woman, 57;  a Kenton County woman, 84; a LaRue County woman, 93; a Lee County woman, 75; a Marshall County man, 90; a Mason County man, 66; a woman, 83, and a man, 59, from McCracken County; a Pike County man, 74; a Taylor County woman, 95; and a Union County woman, 62.
  
• Counties with more than 10 new cases were: Jefferson, 434; Fayette, 189; Pulaski, 150; Kenton, 149; Warren, 104; Boone, 85; Daviess, 78; Oldham, 77; Wayne, 73; Pike, 66; Whitley, 61; Laurel, 49; Hardin, 47; Henderson, 46; Campbell, 45; Greenup, 44; Taylor, 43; Bullitt, 41; Bath, Hopkins McCreary and Russell, 37; Franklin, 34; Bourbon and Madison, 33; Clark and Clay, 32; Boyd and Grant, 30; Boyle and Lincoln, 29; Christian, McCracken and Marshall, 28; Knox, 27; Carter, Clinton, Floyd and Letcher, 26; Mercer, 25; Hart and Jessamine, 23; Nelson and Scott, 22; Mason, 21; Bell, Carroll and Green, 20; Logan, 19; Adair, Marion, Montgomery and Simpson, 18; Muhlenberg, 17; Shelby, 16; Perry, 15; Graves, Grayson, Henry and Ohio, 14; Casey and Lewis, 13; Anderson, Barren, Butler, Powell and Union, 12; Garrard, Meade and Robertson, 11.
• Beshear issued a reminder that Friday is the deadline to apply for the $40 million Team Kentucky Food and Beverage Relief Fund. Check eligibility and apply here.

Beshear announces most Covid-19 deaths yet in one day, 54; hospitalizations and ventilator use are also at all-time highs

White House Coronavirus Task Force table; for a larger version, click on it.

By Melissa Patrick

Kentucky Health News

The state announced more deaths, by far, from Covid-19 on Thursday than any day in the pandemic: 54. The previous record of 37 was set Dec. 2. 

“Remember, that’s a reflection of where this virus was about three weeks ago and where it was trending, because increase in deaths follow increase in cases,” Gov. Andy Beshear said, adding that the list of fatalities was hard to read, but not as what 54 families are going through.

“I hope we don’t have another day where we have 54 deaths. . . . These are 54 families that need our help and our compassion and our green lights, which is the color of compassion and renewal,” Beshear said. “They also need us to do better, to follow the rules and restrictions.”

Kentucky's hospitalizations and ventilator cases also hit record highs, with 1,817 people hospitalized with Covid-19, 431 of them in intensive care and 254 of those on ventilators. 

The good news is that the number of new cases of the novel coronavirus continues to flatten, and the percentage of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus moved down slightly, to 8.45%, continuing a two-week trend. 

Beshear reported 3,349 new cases of the virus Thursday, saying that's still too high, but lower than last Thursday. It brought the state's seven-day rolling average down to 2,957, the first time it's been below 3,000 in two weeks.

The state's Covid-19 death toll is now 2,316. As usual, Beshear named the ages and county for each of the 54 deaths, including six in Madison County and two in Robertson, the state's least populous county, at about 2,000. 

Supreme Court: In the middle of his briefing, Beshear learned that the U.S. Supreme Court had declined to exempt religious schools from his ban on in-person schooling, which runs until Jan. 4 in most counties, mainly on grounds that it will not be renewed. 

The ban was one of several actions the governor took Nov. 18 to stop the rampant spread of the coronavirus. Most were lifted on Monday. 

"We see with that and other steps, it . . . stopped an exponential growth that was threatening our hospital capacity," Beshear said.

Vaccines: Beshear announced that more vaccine shipments from Pfizer Inc. and Moderna are expected in Kentucky over the next two weeks, noting that the next Pfizer shipment of 27,300 doses is lower than expected -- about 11,000 under the number sent in the first shipment. The Moderna allocation is expected to be 110,500 doses. 

Moderna's vaccine moved one more step closer to federal approval. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, an independent panel, voted 20-0 with one abstention to recommend the Moderna vaccine for adults, clearing the path for authorization by the Food and Drug Administration. 

Beshear said the next round of vaccines and those coming in January are also slated for frontline health-care workers and long-term-care employees and residents. He said so far, at least 1,454 of the first shipment of doses had been administered.

Health Commissioner Steven Stack, asked about the discovery that many vials of the Pfizer vaccine have six doses, not the expected five, said that if pharmacists can get six full doses from a vial, they should administer them.

Beshear and Stack both asked for patience as vaccines are rolled out. "Let's make sure we focus on us and we, not I and me," said Stack. "We are all in this together."

Beshear said a multi-media campaign to help Kentuckians learn about the vaccines began Thursday. The state is also offering a hotline to address people's general questions about vaccines. Stack, a physician, asked Kentuckians to not call the hotline to try to schedule appointments or to advocate for who they think should get the vaccine next. "These are things that they are not in a position to answer," he said.

Holiday guidance: Stack issued formal guidance for the upcoming holidays, including limiting social gatherings to no more than eight people from two households, always wearing a mask and social distancing; avoiding all large gatherings, especially if they are indoors; to not host or attend large parades or events; and to avoid all leisure travel until further notice.

“If you get together with people with whom you do not live, you should assume someone in that group is infected. And if you eat and drink and take your masks off, you should assume you are at high risk for getting infected,” said Stack. “The disease is that widespread at this time.”

Federal update: This week's report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force stressed the virus's dangers to people over 65 or those with significant health conditions, urging them to not enter any public spaces where people are unmasked and to have groceries and medications delivered.

And it says people under 40 who choose to gather outside their immediate household, which makes them dangerous to others, need to assume they are infected, even if they don't have symptoms. 

The report advises those 65 and older with symptoms to get tested immediately because "the majority of therapeutics work best early." It also reminds seniors that those over 70 who get infected are at greater risk, noting that 20% of this group are hospitalized and nearly 10% die. 

The report said the state ranks 22nd for new cases and test positivity Dec. 5-11, but Beshear said the report recognizes that Kentucky's cases are plateauing, its test positivity is decreasing and its hospitals are managing. "That means we are doing better while the rest of the nation is doing worse," he said. 

The report says 78% of Kentucky counties have high levels of community transmission and 97% have either a high or a moderate level of transmission. Kentucky had 513 new cases per 100,000 people Dec. 5-11. The national average was 451 per 100,000.

The report puts 94 of the state's 120 counties in the White House red zone, an increase of 10 from the previous report; the orange zone decreased by six, to 15; and the yellow zone dropped by four, to seven. 

In other Covid-19 news Thursday: 

• Today's fatalities were two Bullitt County men, 67 and 72; a Calloway County woman, 94; an Carroll County woman, 83; a Casey County man, 47; a woman, 81, and a man, 69, from Christian County; a woman, 97, and a man, 82, from Clinton County; a Daviess County man, 76; a Fayette County woman, 92; a Graves County woman, 88; two Grayson County women, 63 and 68; a Hardin County woman, 85; a Henderson County man, 94; a woman, 65, and two men, 64 and 98, from Hopkins County; two women, 82 and 97, and two men, 47 and 87, from Jefferson County; a woman, 85, and a man, 55, from Jessamine County; a Johnson County man, 77; a Kenton County man, 66; a woman, 75, and a man, 79, from Knott County; a Larue County man, 75; an Logan County woman, 88; four women, 76, 85, 90 and 99, and two men, ages 77 and 89, from Madison County; two Mason County men, 83 and 87; a McLean County woman, 88; a Monroe County man, 86; a woman, 81, and a man, 77, from Muhlenberg County; a woman, 61, and a man, 52, from Nelson County; three Oldham County men, 75, 86 and 95; two Robertson County men, 70 and 87; a Russell County man, 63; a Spencer County woman, 92; a Union County woman, 73; and a Washington County woman, 58.
• Counties with 10 or more cases were Jefferson, 475; Kenton, 178; Boone, 171; Fayette, 126; Campbell, 119; Pulaski, 106; Hardin, 103; Daviess, 94; Madison, 86; Warren, 80; Wayne,70; Laurel, McCracken and Shelby, 57; Pike, 56; Oldham, 48; McCreary, 44; Russell, 38; Taylor, 37; Jessamine and Perry, 34; Bell, 33; Christian, Letcher and Nelson, 32; Bullitt and Lincoln, 31; Anderson, 30; Allen, Graves, Henderson, Marion, Marshall and Rowan, 28; Mercer, 27; Boyle, 26; Clinton, Grant and Montgomery, 24; Logan and Ohio, 23; Floyd, 22; Adair, Scott and Spencer, 21; Calloway, Fleming and Mason, 20; Boyd, Carter, Casey and Trigg, 19; Franklin, Meade and Muhlenberg, 18; Woodford, 17; Martin and Whitley, 16; Knox, 15; Clark, Garrard and Hopkins, 14; Barren, Harlan, Simpson and Washington, 13; Clay, Lawrence and Pendleton, 12; Knott, 11; and Carroll and Monroe, 10.
• In long-term care, 194 additional residents and 126 additional staff tested positive for the virus, with 35 more deaths attributed to the disease. There are 2,590 active resident cases and 1,239 active staff cases, and 1,590 residents and eight staff have died from the virus. 
• The daily report on the kycovid19.ky.gov website has been updated with a new format and new information.