The long, dark, COVID winter may be behind us: according to Gov. Andy Beshear, Kentucky is in its tenth straight week of declining COVID-19 cases. The positivity rate in Kentucky is now at 2.97%, the lowest it has been since July 2020.

This drop in cases may be attributed to the 1.175 million Kentucky residents that have been vaccinated since the first doses of the vaccine arrived in December 2020.

Vaccinations will open to the general public on April 12. People 16 and over are approved to receive the Pfizer vaccine; for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, recipients must be over the age of 18.

Not everyone is getting the vaccine right away. Sabriel Metcalf, a senior broadcast major, said she plans on waiting before she signs up for hers.

 “Where I work it was offered, but I declined. I’m just waiting to see how everyone else reacts to it,” Metcalf said. 

UK has encouraged all students to get the vaccine through the mass clinic at Kroger Field, sending reminder emails to all students in March after offering vaccines to university student employees earlier in the semester.

Some students don’t plan on getting their vaccine at all. Senior accounting major Jason Liu is one of these students. 

“I don’t really trust it like that,” Liu said. “I feel like it’s cool, but I just might not get it.” 

Vaccination feeds a rush of hope that the end of the pandemic is near and that the country is on the path back to normal. Though vaccinated individuals should still wear masks and avoid large indoor gatherings, the CDC issued guidance saying vaccinated individuals can gather with a small group of other vaccinated people without masks, prompting an end to a year of loneliness for some Americans. University of Kentucky students are similarly looking forward to their options post-vaccination. 

PhD student Abelline Fionah hasn’t been vaccinated, but as soon as she is, she wants to go out of the country. 

“I’ll go anywhere at this point honestly” Fionah said, but she has her eyes set on Uganda. 

“I really want to go to New York. I like fashion and I know it’s very big in New York. I’ve lived in the suburbs my whole life so I want to experience that,” said Riley Brashear, a freshmen marketing major. She still hasn’t gotten her vaccine, but she stated that she wants to.

Avid bowler and junior psychology major Sam Grant wishes to get back to the west coast to pursue his passion in bowling. 

“I do tournaments all over the US, so I can go to Vegas, wherever,” Grant said.

Students should remember that they are not fully vaccinated until two weeks after their final dose, either the second dose for Pfizer or Moderna or the single dose of Johnson & Johnson.

Experts encourage everyone who is eligible to be vaccinated because it is the quickest way to end the pandemic. At UK, students and employees can request an appointment at ukvaccine.org. 

Vaccinations ending the pandemic rely on most people getting vaccinated, so while it may take a while to reach herd immunity, each shot is a shot closer to that goal. may be a while, this vaccine is the next step to being safer from the virus and therefore being able to gather in groups, see your immunocompromised family, and go to concerts and festivals that many students have dearly missed. 

UKY students, faculty and staff can do so at https://vaccine.ukhc.org. Once you request a vaccine, be on the lookout for an email from UK HEALTHCARE VACCINATIONS – it may go to the spam folder at first. That email will provide the user with an access code to make an appointment at Kroger Field. The site is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, so there are many appointment times available.