The widely-discussed “Omicron” variant of COVID-19 hasn’t made its way to Kentucky. At least, not yet.
But during Thursday’s “Team Kentucky” update, Governor Andy Beshear and State Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack issued slight concerns about current trends with the already-existing “Delta” variant — as testing positivity has bounced up north of 8%, and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are up 11%.
More than 3,000 new cases of the coronavirus were diagnosed on Wednesday, which Beshear said was the highest since October 1, and he noted the Thanksgiving holiday likely played a part.
Whether this is a slight bump due to considerable gatherings or a troubling trend in a new round of cases remains to be the question, but Beshear added that waning immunity from two-dose vaccines in Moderna and Pfizer and one-dose vaccines in Johnson & Johnson — and hence why he authorized an executive order for all Kentuckians 18-and-older to line up for booster shots.
As of Thursday, Beshear said 64% of all Kentuckians five and older and 72% of all Kentuckians aged 18 and older had been vaccinated — bringing the state’s total to more than 2.68 million inoculated.
Also as of Thursday, more than 580,000 Kentuckians had received a booster, in what’s approximately 13% of the state’s population. Stack stated that while “Omicron” is the new discussion, “Delta” and its tempering should be the primary focus — as the development of mRNA vaccines remains speedy and effective.
From March 1 through Wednesday, 82.6% of all coronavirus cases, 84.6% of all coronavirus hospitalizations and 82.7% of all COVID-19 related deaths in the state were among partially or unvaccinated individuals.
