During the Team Kentucky briefing on Thursday, Feb. 4, Gov. Andy Beshear announced four new regional COVID-19 vaccination sites will open next week across Kentucky.

Two of the four additional sites were created in partnership with Kroger. One Kroger site will be located at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington. The second will be at the Greenwood Mall in Bowling Green.

Both Kroger locations will schedule 2,000 appointments per week and will operate Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments can be made at Kroger.com/covidvaccine or by calling 866-211-5320.

A third new site created in partnership with Murray State University will open in Murray at the CSFB Center. It will offer 500 appointments per week and operate on Wednesday, Feb. 10 and Wednesday, Feb. 17 from 8 a.m. to noon. Appointments can be made by visiting callowayhealth.org or calling 270-753-3381.

The final site in Glasgow will also offer 500 appointments weekly and was created in partnership with T.J. Regional Health. Its hours have yet to be announced but more information can be found at tjregionalhealth.org or by calling 270-659-1010.

More information about vaccine sites can be accessed through the kycovid19.ky.gov website by clicking on the vaccine bar.

All new vaccination sites will continue to prioritize individuals who are 70 and older.

Kentucky public health commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said local health departments around the state will be receiving a steady supply of the vaccine for the next three weeks. The number of vaccines allocated to each county will be determined by population. At minimum, each county will receive one hundred doses.

Dr. Stack also announced additional vaccine inventory will be provided as soon as next Thursday through the Federal Pharmacy Program. According to Stack, between 80-100 Walgreens locations and 45-50 independent pharmacies in Kentucky will be selected to distribute approximately 13,000 doses of the vaccine.

Both Beshear and Stack acknowledged there have been difficulties getting appointments for vaccines and said a lack of supply was to blame.

“They’re using it as quickly and efficiently as they can. There’s only so much to go around,” said Stack.

At least 10% of Kentuckians have now been vaccinated, according to Stack, who said it was “nothing short of a modern medical miracle.”

On Thursday, there were 2,500 new COVID-19 cases and 58 deaths reported. Despite the high number of deaths, Beshear noted today’s positivity rate was 8.37%, the lowest in over a month. The number of new cases is the lowest number reported for a Thursday in over four weeks.

Beshear described the trends as “some of the best we have seen during the pandemic.”

Stack urged Kentuckians to help keep cases low by celebrating the upcoming Super Bowl safely. He encouraged everyone to follow the current guidelines including wearing masks, staying six feet apart and avoiding gatherings with more than eight people.