In a press conference on April 19, Governor Andy Beshear spoke of the success of vaccines in long-term care facilities and urged age groups under 50 to receive the vaccine.

Across the commonwealth, 1.665 million Kentuckians have received their first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine. There are 400,000 doses available, and the governor expects 150,000 more to be delivered tomorrow.

Despite this substantial number of vaccines available, only 30-38% of the 40 to 49-year-old age group have received the vaccine, and this age group makes up 15.1% of all cases. 20 to 39 year-olds make up 33.5% of Kentucky Covid-19 cases.

“Almost 50% of all covid cases we have had are between the ages of 20 and 49. That’s when we see 38% or less of individuals in that age group currently vaccinated, so we need to pick it up for our younger Kentuckians if we want to lessen the number of cases and ultimately defeat this virus,” Beshear said.

April is named the national minority health month of 2021. Kentucky launched the 1-2-3 campaign after a trend of disproportionate cases and deaths of minorities in the pandemic. This has led to more individuals signed up for health care.

Beshear reports lower cases and deaths for minorities in Kentucky.

“Being intentional and recognizing unequal access can help us develop strategies to actually move the ball forward, protect lives, and do better,” Beshear said.

If Kentuckians do not start to get vaccinated, there is time for variants to spread, and the governor predicts a fourth wave of Covid-19 will occur.

“Folks vaccines work, and for folks who have taken the vaccine, they virtually eliminate serious illness, and they eliminate death, and they do that in even the most vulnerable populations,” Beshear said.

Long-term care deaths were more than 2/3 of the number of deaths in Kentucky before vaccination. After vaccine distribution, there is hardly any number of long-term care facility deaths.

The plateau of Covid-19 cases in Kentucky continues possibly with a slight increase in cases.

The governor reports 231 new cases, with 168 of them occurring in people in the age group 49 and under. Kentucky currently has a 3.46 % positivity rate and nine recent deaths. There is one red zone in Kentucky, but a large amount of hospital capacity is still open.

The governor will not lift most restrictions until 2.5 million vaccines have been distributed. However, gatherings that are over 1,000 people are now allowed to be at 50% capacity.

Guidelines for the Kentucky Derby are not affected by this announcement, as the Derby has its own capacity plan.

There is no news on when and if the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will be available to the public again.

Polls show that Republicans are less likely to get vaccinated against Covid-19. This could push back the governor’s plan for taking down restrictions and affect the possibility of a fourth wave of Covid-19.

“Our political parties are just constructs, and this virus doesn’t care whether you put a D or an R behind your name. It will kill you just the same.”

The governor will be back with another report on Thursday, April 22, at 4:00 p.m.