With coronavirus vaccines now being administered around the commonwealth, the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) has slightly altered the schedule in which vaccines will be administered to the public.
According to the Grayson County Health Department, the agency will follow the revised vaccination phases:
- 1A — Long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities and healthcare personnel (currently underway)
- 1B — First responders, anyone over 70, K-12 school personnel (many first responders in Grayson Co. have already received the vaccine)
- 1C — Anyone over 60, anyone over 16 falling under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) highest risk category, and all essential workers
- 2 — Anyone over 40
- 3 — Anyone over 16
- 4 — Children under the age of 16 (if the vaccine is approved for this age group), which is estimated to be 18 percent of Kentucky’s population, or about 792,000 children.
The following definitions detail how workers are categorized by the CDC:
** Frontline Essential Workers: Healthcare personnel; first responders (firefighters, police); corrections workers; education, including teachers, support staff, daycare); food and agriculture; manufacturing; U.S. Postal Service workers; public transit workers; and grocery store workers.
** Other Essential Workers: Transportation and logistics; food service; shelter and housing (construction); finance; IT and communication; energy; media; legal; public safety (engineers); and water and wastewater.
** Adults of any age with the following conditions are at increased risk of severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19: Cancer; chronic kidney disease; COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease); Down Syndrome; heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies; immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant; obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but less than 40 kg/m2); severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2); pregnancy; sickle cell disease; smoking; Type 2 diabetes mellitus.
State officials said, “The goal is to administer 90 percent of all vaccine received in Kentucky within seven days of arrival.”
On Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear, said he thinks phase 1B vaccinations will begin on February 1.
(Photo: Grayson Co. Jailer Jason Woosley receiving his coronavirus vaccine, courtesy of the Grayson Co. Health Dept.)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
