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A security checkpoint at Denver International Airport on Sunday. While the coronavirus was a major factor in the groundings, bad weather and maintenance issues also caused problems.Credit...David Zalubowski/Associated Press
Flight disruptions in the United States continued on Monday as many people embarked on their first trips in almost two years, and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, again raised the possibility of a vaccination requirement for air travel.
At least 2,600 more flights were canceled Monday, including about 1,000 U.S. flights, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus is sending daily caseloads in parts of the United States soaring to levels higher than last winters pandemic peak.
While the cancellations were only a small percentage of overall flights, the problem threatened to extend into the holiday week.
When you make vaccination a requirement, thats another incentive to get more people vaccinated, Dr. Fauci said on MSNBC on Monday. If you want to do that with domestic flights, I think thats something that seriously should be considered.
Over the holiday weekend, airlines canceled thousands of flights as the Omicron variant hit flight crews. In all, about 2,300 U.S. flights were canceled on Saturday and Sunday of Christmas weekend, with more than 3,500 more grounded globally, according to FlightAware, which provides aviation data. On Sunday alone, more than 1,300 U.S. flights and nearly 1,700 additional ones worldwide were canceled.
While some of the groundings were caused by bad weather and maintenance issues, several airlines acknowledged that the current wave of coronavirus cases had contributed significantly. A JetBlue spokesman said the airline had seen an increasing number of sick calls from Omicron.
Twelve percent of JetBlue flights, 6 percent of Delta Air Lines flights, 5 percent of United Airlines flights and 2 percent of American Airlines flights on Sunday were canceled, according to FlightAware.
The stock prices of United, Delta, American and Southwest the four largest U.S. carriers were slightly lower on Monday.
Traveling rebounded sharply this year, making the situation at airports worse: Roughly two million people passed through screening checkpoints each day last week, according to the Transportation Security Administration, and on Sunday. The numbers on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were much higher than last year, and some figures even exceeded those of the same days two years ago, when virtually no Americans were aware of a virus beginning to circulate halfway around the world.
The Omicron variant, which is now responsible for more than 70 percent of the new coronavirus cases in the United States, has already helped push daily case averages in the United States above 200,000 for the first time in nearly 12 months, according to The New York Timess coronavirus tracker.
An airline trade group has asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to shorten the recommended isolation period for fully vaccinated employees who test positive to a maximum of five days, from 10 days, before they can return with a negative test.
Swift and safe adjustments by the C.D.C. would alleviate at least some of the staffing pressures and set up airlines to help millions of travelers returning from their holidays, said Derek Dombrowski, a JetBlue spokesman.
The flight attendants union, however, has argued that reductions in recommended isolation times should be decided on by public health professionals, not airlines.
Some of this weekends delays had little to do with the pandemic. Alaska Airlines had only a few cancellations related to crew exposures to the coronavirus, said a spokeswoman, Alexa Rudin. Yet it canceled 170 flights those two days, according to FlightAware, including 21 percent of its Sunday flights, because of unusually cold and snowy weather in the Pacific Northwest, which affected its hub, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The pandemic has also caused a shortage of train and bus workers nationwide. In New York City, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is also dealing with an uptick in positive cases among its staff, which is 80 percent vaccinated. It said subway service on Monday was running on a normal schedule, with scattered exceptions.
Whatever we can do as riders to help minimize the risk to transit workers will help to reduce the spread, said Lisa Daglian, the executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the M.T.A., a watchdog group. The M.T.A. is doing what it can with the resources it has available.
Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for the Riders Alliance, an advocacy group, said: My sense is the M.T.A. is once again making the best of a bad situation.
Vaccination against COVID-19 helps protect millions of people from the coronavirus, while reducing their risk of serious illness from the disease. But new research says it may also help alleviate the scourge of anxiety and depression.
While vaccines are primarily aimed at reducing COVID-19 transmission and mortality risks, they may have important secondary benefits, according to a new paper from the University of Southern California and the RAND Corp.
The scientists used data from U.S. Census Bureaus Household Pulse Survey and cross-referenced those figures to state-level COVID-19 vaccination eligibility data to estimate secondary benefits of vaccination on mental-health outcomes.
We estimate that COVID-19 vaccination reduces anxiety and depression symptoms by nearly 30%, they concluded. Fear of testing positive among frontline workers and social isolation has taken an emotional toll on millions of people.
The researchers noted larger reductions in anxiety or depression symptoms among individuals with lower education levels, who rent their homes, who are not able to work remotely, and who have children in their household.
Nearly all the benefits are private benefits, and we find little evidence of spillover effects, that is, increases in community vaccination rates are not associated with improved anxiety or depression symptoms among the unvaccinated, they added.
Nearly one-third of U.S. adults reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression, a survey of 50,849 U.S. adults by the U.S. Census Bureauand National Center for Health Statistics in September and October concluded.
Some fear that the deterioration in mental health could linger long after the pandemic has subsided.
The economic benefit of reductions in anxiety and depression could amount to billions of dollars by alleviating healthcare costs and restoring lost work hours, public-health experts say.
The World Health Organization says depression and anxiety cost the global economy $1 trillion every year in lost productivity, leading companies to improve their mental-health support services for workers.
People suffering from depression miss an average of4.8 workdays and suffer 11.5 days of reduced productivityover a three-month period, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Researchers worldwide are investigating the causes and impacts of this stress, and some fear that the deterioration in mental health could linger long after the pandemic has subsided, according to a commentary in the journal Nature.
Scientists hope that they can use the mountains of data being collected in studies about mental health to link the impact of particular control measures to changes in peoples well-being, and to inform the management of future pandemics, it said.
Younger people, particularly young women and people with young children, are most vulnerable to increased psychological distress due to the pandemic, perhaps because their need for social interactions are stronger, the article added.
Related: Companies expanded access to mental health-services during the pandemic
Shares of Novavax Inc. NVAX, +1.73% hiked up 2.9% in morning trading Tuesday, after the Maryland-based biotechnology company and vaccine manufacture Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd. said Novavax's protein-based COVID-19 vaccine, Covovax, has been granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in India by the Drugs Controller General of India. The vaccine will be made and marketed in India by Serum. Novavax's vaccine has previously received EUA in Indonesia and the Philippines, has received Emergency Use Listing with the World Health Organization and has been granted Conditional Marketing Authorization by the European Commission under the name Nuvaxovid. Novavax expects to submit a complete package to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its vaccine by the end of the year. "The approval of Covovax in India marks a significant milestone in strengthening our immunization efforts across India and LMICs [low-to-middle-income countries]," said Serum Chief Executive Adar Poonawalla. "We are proud to deliver a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine, based on Phase 3 clinical data demonstrating more than 90% efficacy and a favorable safety profile, to our nation." Novavax's stock has shed 20.7% over the past three months, while the iShares Biotechnology ETF IBB, -0.34% has lost 5.1% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.07% has gained 10.3%.
At first glance, it may seem as if the world will soon have more than enough COVID-19 vaccines. Manufacturers have produced approximately ten billion individual doses since states began approving inoculations in the middle of 2020. Based on current estimates, they are now capable of making 12 billion doses each year. The World Health Organization has approved ten vaccines; multiple countries, such as Russia, have approved several more; and plenty of additional vaccines are still in development.
This scale-up in productionfrom zero to ten billion in less than one and a half yearsis a remarkable feat, one never seen before in biological manufacturing. But as impressive as this accomplishment is, it will still be insufficient. The first reason for this is well known: dose allocation across countries is extraordinarily uneven. Over 70 percent of the COVID-19 vaccines produced in 2021 were bought by high- and upper-middle-income countries. Less than one percent, by contrast, have gone to low-income ones. The results speak for themselves. Some rich countries, such as Portugal, have fully vaccinated close to or more than 80 percent of their residents. Meanwhile, many poor countries, including Nigeria, have vaccinated less than two percent of their people.
But it is not just a problem of aggregate distribution. The world may appear to have lots of vaccines, but only 27 percent of them are messenger RNA (mRNA) shots, which train the body to make the protein that allows COVID-19 to infect cells and then the antibodies that fight it off. And so far, these are the vaccines that appear able to prevent people from becoming sick with the new, very contagious Omicron variant. These more effective and adaptable vaccines are even more concentrated in rich states than are shots overall.
Omicrons rapid and sudden emergence highlights the uncertainties in the pandemics trajectory. It is possible that the world will need another round of vaccines, further straining supply and encouraging high-income countries to continue stockpiling doses. To prevent such an outcome, wealthy countries, multilateral development banks, and global health agencies will need to expand mRNA manufacturing in regions and countries that have little to no capacity. Doing that would increase overall supply and make it more difficult for a small collection of nations to hoard most doses. It would help distribute mRNA vaccines around the world, lowering prices and making shots more accessible to everyone. And in the long term, more dispersed manufacturing could help countries produce non-COVID-19 inoculations, protecting the world against other diseasesand better preparing it for the next pandemic.
Of all the COVID-19 vaccines delivered in the United States, the overwhelming majorityroughly 95 percentare mRNA vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. It is a statistic that stands in sharp contrast to the rest of the planet. Globally, over 43 percent of the COVID-19 vaccines produced in 2021 were made by Sinopharm and Sinovac using inactivated viruses. Nearly a quarter were produced by the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca, relying on viral vectors. Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, an outright majority of all U.S. supplies, make up just over 20 percent of the worlds arsenal. Moderna, over a third of what the United States has received, constitutes a little over 5 percent of the planets production.
There is nothing inherently wrong with having large supplies of non-mRNA vaccines, which all do a good job of preventing severe disease and death. States should certainly take and distribute these doses if they are the ones they can quickest access. But unfortunately, studies in the lab and in the real world on the Beta, Gamma, and Delta variants showed that both viral vector vaccines and inactivated virus vaccines are not as effective as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. As a result, many countries that previously administered Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Oxford-AstraZeneca have switched to mRNA shots for boosters.
If early results on the efficacy of shots against Omicron hold true in larger studies, there will be even an even stronger demand for mRNA vaccines around the world. But many countries will struggle to gain access to these shots. Right now, almost all mRNA vaccines are manufactured in Europe and the United States. For vaccine production as a whole, capacity is highly concentrated in China, the European Union, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The clustering of manufacturing creates a series of challenges. It provides vaccine-producing states, for instance, with undue international influence by giving them the power to use vaccines as a tool of trade and diplomacy. It also means that if countries with large production facilities institute export restrictions so they can vaccinate their own residents first, as India did in March 2021, countries without manufacturing networks may find themselves paralyzed.
Only 27 percent of the worlds vaccines are made with mRNA.
To make distribution more equitable, companies must build mRNA vaccine production sites around the world. They should focus especially on Africa and Latin Americatwo regions that have mostly been excluded from COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing (and vaccine supply chains generally). Manufacturers should, in particular, add production capacity in small states, such as Costa Rica, Panama, Rwanda, Senegal, and Singapore. Greater dispersion would help minimize the costs of vaccine nationalism. Even if these countries offered doses for their own populations before exporting to others, they would fulfill their domestic needs relatively quickly.
Thankfully, vaccine makersincluding mRNA manufacturersare taking steps to build capacity in such places. Pfizer-BioNTech has announced manufacturing partnerships in Argentina, Rwanda, and South Africa. Moderna has announced plans to build a facility in Africa, although the location and other details are not yet available. Johnson & Johnson and Oxford-AstraZeneca already have set up multiple manufacturing sites globally. Singapore has attracted a slate of vaccine manufacturing investments in the last 18 months, including from Pfizer-BioNTech, Merck, and Sanofi. Gennova, an Indian company, has set up its own domestic manufacturing plant and is developing an mRNA vaccine.
But right now, these factories wont come online fast enough to meet the expected demand for variant-tailored doses. To speed up the process, the G-20 countries should provide new vaccine production sites with financing and technical help. They should also facilitate the flow of equipment and critical raw materials. Finally, major economies must push manufacturers to build more such facilities, offering assistance if needed.
Much is uncertain about the future of the pandemic, including what new variants might emerge, how effective different types of vaccines will be against them, and whether companies will be able to produce new, custom-tailored vaccines in response. But in most future scenarios, the world will need more manufacturing capacity for mRNA vaccines, which (in theory) are much simpler to adapt and reformulate than the competition. In the coming months, countries should also consider establishing plants for protein-based COVID-19 vaccines, the first of whichproduced by Novavaxwas just approved by the European Union and the World Health Organization. Protein-based shots cannot be retooled as quickly as mRNA vaccines, and it is unclear if they will be as effective against new variants. But like mRNA vaccines, protein-based shots use production systems that are simpler than those deployed by viral vector shots. Unlike mRNA vaccines, protein-based shots are not technologically new; the worlds manufacturers have more required technical experience and capacity for production.
Yet to build manufacturing sites that will be useful in the long term, it isnt enough for countries to build facilities that can produce the kinds of shots needed right now. Companies and governments must construct manufacturing sites that are themselves flexible, so that they can easily switch from making one vaccine to another. The goal is for facilities to be able to quickly start producing different kinds of COVID-19 shots or even move from making COVID-19 vaccines to routine immunizations. Sanofis proposed production facility in Singapore offers one possible template. The site would have digital infrastructure and equipment capabilities that allow for quick changeovers, thereby enabling the site to toggle between three or four different types of vaccines. The proposed mRNA site in Rwanda would be a highly modular manufacturing unit, which should shorten the construction period and make it easier to reconfigure individual components if and when needed.
Vaccine manufacturing is a complex task, and it will take time to get new sites running.
Adaptability has its downsides. Flexible facilities could have higher operating and capital expenses compared with dedicated plants that produce extremely large volumes of one product. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the World Bank; and the other multilateral institutions that finance vaccinationssuch as the Asian Development Bankwill need to accept slightly higher prices from these new manufacturing sites as a premium for resilience and flexibility. Wealthy countries should also consider offering large, low-interest loans and grants to new facilities so that they can be cost competitive from the start. In the long term, flexible sites may actually have financial and risk advantages over single-use sites, since they can more easily adjust to the worlds needs.
It will take time to get the new sites running. Vaccine manufacturing is a complex task that requires the right equipment, workforce, quality-control systems, and inputs. The learning curve for mRNA manufacturing sites, which employ new technologies, will be especially steep. But recent contract manufacturers for Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech were able to set up secondary sites in six to eight months, showing that with the right incentives and resources, building new facilities is achievable within a reasonable time frame. The United States and other G-20 countries could help expedite the process by having their biologics-manufacturing scientists to provide technical assistance and by offering financial support. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and the International Finance Corporation have already made some investments in additional manufacturing in India, Senegal, and South Africa. These efforts should be expanded and accelerated to bolster production capacity for currently approved mRNA vaccines, second-generation mRNA vaccines, and protein-based vaccines.
Unequal vaccination coverage cannot be magically fixed by creating more equitable manufacturing capacity. To tackle this problem, governments, international institutions, and businesses must take concerted action to improve vaccine deployment, cold chain capacity, and the supply of ancillary goods, such as syringes. National and community leaders will need to combat misinformation and encourage hesitant residents to actually get shots. But by expanding and diversifying vaccine-manufacturing capacity, the world could increase vaccine supply and improve distribution, better safeguarding the planet from infections. The wealthiest countries and companies have a responsibility to help the world as it moves through the Greek alphabet of COVID-19 variants and as it contends with whatever illnesses come next.
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ACC revises isolation options for COVID-19 vaccinated individuals
The updated policies allow for shorter isolation period options, allowing for quicker return to play
Updated: 6:02 PM EST Dec 27, 2021
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday an addition to the leagues Medical Advisory Group Report that includes options for reducing isolation for vaccinated individuals, if permitted by local and state public health officials.In addition to the updated report, the Medical Advisory Group has also stressed that due diligence be maintained on everyday mitigation strategies as the best way to reduce and minimize the spread of COVID and its variants.The ACCs Medical Advisory Group has been meeting weekly since the spring of 2020 to share information on the impact of COVID-19 on ACC campuses and intercollegiate athletics. The first MAG report was released on July 29, 2020, and today is the 12th version of the report over the last 17 months.The updated report maintains the below language related to isolation, while adding two options to shorten isolation for vaccinated individuals.Pursuant to CDC guidance, an individual who tests positive for COVID-19 shall be isolated for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms/positive test and at least 1 day (i.e., 24 hours) has passed since recovery defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement of respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath). A student-athletes medical treatment will be determined by institutional medical staff, and be considered unavailable for training, team/group activities or game play until the student-athlete has both completed necessary isolation and had a medical clearance by team physicians.A vaccinated individual who tests positive for COVID-19 may complete isolation when one of the following occurs, if permitted by local and state public health officials:Once asymptomatic, the individual has two negative tests (i.e., molecular PCR or antigen) from specimens that are collected at least 24 hours apart; orAt least seven (7) days have elapsed since the first positive test, the individuals symptoms are improving, and the individual has one negative test (i.e., molecular PCR or antigen) within 24 hours of being cleared.Such an individual must be fever-free for at least 24 hours to be cleared under either of the above options. The MAG is comprised of an individual from each member institution and includes a cross-section of infectious disease experts, public health experts, campus student health experts, team physicians, athletic health care administrators and a mental health expert. Following the announcement of ACCs modified 2021-22 COVID-19 Game Rescheduling Policy on Wednesday, December 22, the leagues Athletic Directors clarified that for mens and womens basketball, a team must have a roster minimum of seven game available scholarship student-athletes and one countable coach to play a game.
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday an addition to the leagues Medical Advisory Group Report that includes options for reducing isolation for vaccinated individuals, if permitted by local and state public health officials.
In addition to the updated report, the Medical Advisory Group has also stressed that due diligence be maintained on everyday mitigation strategies as the best way to reduce and minimize the spread of COVID and its variants.
The ACCs Medical Advisory Group has been meeting weekly since the spring of 2020 to share information on the impact of COVID-19 on ACC campuses and intercollegiate athletics. The first MAG report was released on July 29, 2020, and today is the 12th version of the report over the last 17 months.
The updated report maintains the below language related to isolation, while adding two options to shorten isolation for vaccinated individuals.
Pursuant to CDC guidance, an individual who tests positive for COVID-19 shall be isolated for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms/positive test and at least 1 day (i.e., 24 hours) has passed since recovery defined as resolution of fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and improvement of respiratory symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath). A student-athletes medical treatment will be determined by institutional medical staff, and be considered unavailable for training, team/group activities or game play until the student-athlete has both completed necessary isolation and had a medical clearance by team physicians.
The MAG is comprised of an individual from each member institution and includes a cross-section of infectious disease experts, public health experts, campus student health experts, team physicians, athletic health care administrators and a mental health expert.
Following the announcement of ACCs modified 2021-22 COVID-19 Game Rescheduling Policy on Wednesday, December 22, the leagues Athletic Directors clarified that for mens and womens basketball, a team must have a roster minimum of seven game available scholarship student-athletes and one countable coach to play a game.
Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise and the countys Vaccine Task Force announced a partnership with state officials to open two additional COVID-19 vaccination sites at county parks located in Bayonne and North Bergen.
These sites began operating yesterday, and will be open to anyone eligible to receive a vaccine or booster shot.
Opening these new vaccine sites is a significant step in increasing vaccination capacity in Bayonne and North Bergen, said Hudson County Executive Tom GeGise. As cases of the Omicron variant rise, the best thing that we can all do to protect ourselves and our communities is to get vaccinated. I am proud of the work that our team at County Vaccine Task Force has been able to do, and look forward to continuing to work closely with state and local officials to make sure that everyone eligible for a vaccine or booster shot is able to get one quickly and free of charge.
The first new vaccination site were operational as of yesterday, and both will have FEMA canvassers working outside the site to increase visibility, and provide translation services to non-English speakers.The sites are located at:
Bayonne: Stephen R. Gregg Park, multipurpose center, 43rd St. and JFK Blvd. This site will be open this week Wednesday 12/29 and Thursday 12/30 from 2pm 7pm, and Thursday through Saturday 2pm 7pm in the following weeks.
North Bergen: James J. Braddock Park, multipurpose room at the boat house, 5 Lakeside Drive South. This site will be open Sunday through Tuesday from 2pm 7pm.
We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the state in its efforts to expand vaccination rates, said Carrie Nawrocki, Executive Director of Hudson Regional Health Commission. These two new sites will be crucial in ensuring that everyone is able to get vaccinated and we can slow the spread of the Omicron variant. We urge anyone who hasnt been vaccinated to take advantage of these new sites and get their shot today.
In addition to these new vaccination sites, the County Vaccine Task Force is continuing to offer free vaccines and booster shots at the Hudson County Vaccine Distribution Center in Kearny. County Executive DeGise urges anyone who has not been vaccinated to do so today.
About the Hudson County Vaccine Distribution Center: The Hudson County Vaccine Distribution Center is operated by Hudson Regional Health Commission and overseen by County Executive Tom DeGises Vaccine Task Force, which includes representatives from the Hudson County Improvement Authority, the Hudson County Office of Emergency Management, County Department of Roads and Public Property, the Hudson County Schools of Technology and the Hudson County Sheriffs Office. The center is located at the USS Juneau Center at 110 Hackensack in Kearny.
WALLINGFORD Adults will have the opportunity to receiveaCOVID-19 booster orinitial vaccine doseduring an upcoming series of clinics hosted by the townHealth Department.
The vaccination clinics, which dont require an appointment,are scheduled for11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Thursdayin January Jan. 6, 13, 20, 27at the Wallingford Parks and Recreation Department, 6 Fairfield Blvd., according to a statement from theHealth Department.
Homebound vaccination appointments are available for those who qualify. To schedule homebound vaccination, contact the Health Department at 203-294-2065.
Booster doses and initial doses will be available for those 18 and older, sincethe clinics will offer the Moderna vaccine only thePfizer vaccine has been approved for ages younger than 18.
Individuals are eligible forbooster doses starting six months after receiving a second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, or twomonths after receiving a dose of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions recommendations allowfor mixingthe brand of vaccineforbooster shots some people stick withthe vaccine type that they originally received, while othersprefer to get a different type.
According to the CDC, clinical trials showed that a booster dose increased immune response in participantsimprovingprotection against getting infected with COVID-19, including the Delta variant,and helping to prevent COVID-19 with symptoms.
While the CDC is monitoring the spread of the Omicron variant, current vaccines are expected toprotectagainst severe illness, hospitalizationand death, but breakthrough infectionsin people who are fully vaccinated are more likely to occur.
Local status update
According to state Department of Public Health data released Monday, Wallingford has reported a total of 6,177 cases of COVID-19 5,648 confirmed and 529 probable cases out of a statewide total of489,211.
The number of people tested in Wallingfordreached 36,652,out of a statewide total of more than 13.3 million tests. The statewide positivity rate climbed to 10.71 percent Monday.
Total deaths of Wallingford residentsfrom COVID-19 was reported at 186, out of9,101 deaths statewide.
Wallingfords total number of deaths increased by two from 184 a month ago..
LTakores@record-journal.com203-317-2212Twitter: @LCTakores
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) New COVID-19 restrictions start in Philadelphia next week. Starting in a week, everyone will have to show proof of vaccination to eat inside.
The rule also applies to arenas and movie theaters.
There is a two-week grace period where businesses can accept proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 24 hours.
But after Jan. 17., only vaccinations will be allowed.
Gov. Beshear said rapid testing is most likely going to become more prevalent whether that is the day before a get together or even the day of.
FRANKFORT, Ky. Monday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear held is 4:00 p.m. weekly update on COVID-19 and the pandemic's continuous impact across Kentucky.
Beshear said 62% of all Kentuckians have received at least one dose of a vaccine.
Those 75 years and older who have been vaccinated have increased to 92%. Only 16% of children between 5-11 years old have been vaccinated.
The five counties with the highest percentage of those vaccinated are:
Beshear said rapid testing is most likely going to become more prevalent whether that is the day before a get together or even the day of.
When you're gonna get together, you want to get together without wearing masks, I get that," said Beshear.
"If everybody is vaccinated, that's a good step one."
Beshear said step two is to get tested as close to the get together as possible.
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