FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 17, 2021) – On Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear announced record pediatric COVID-19 hospital admissions, and Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, announced that a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for immunocompromised Kentuckians at least 28 days after a second dose.
“COVID-19 isn’t just hitting adults. With the delta variant, your kids are at a greater risk than they have been before,” said Gov. Beshear. “In a Southern Indiana school district, 750 students are already in quarantine. Do the right thing: Get vaccinated, mask up in schools and in high-risk indoor settings. Protect our kids.”
Dr. Stack said Kentuckians with the following conditions should consider receiving a third dose:
- Active or recent treatment for cancer/malignancy;
- Solid-organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplants;
- Moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (such as DiGeorge syndrome or Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome);
- Advanced or untreated HIV infection; and
- Active treatment with high-dose corticosteroids, alkylating agents, antimetabolites, tumor-necrosis (TNF) blockers and other immunosuppressive medications.
“This is for individuals who may not have received adequate protection from their initial primary vaccine series. People with normal immune systems are not advised to receive an additional dose at this time,” said Dr. Stack. “Anyone with questions about their eligibility should talk with their health care provider.”
Individuals who have received a Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine are not recommended to receive an additional dose at this time. Third doses can be received by any COVID-19 vaccine provider that stocks the same mRNA vaccine that was used for an individual’s primary series (Pfizer or Moderna).
Kentucky’s Pediatric COVID-19 Admissions Up by More Than 400% in One Month
COVID-19 cases in Kentucky children have increased more than 400% in the last month, from 133 July 16 to 548 Aug. 16.
In addition, as of Aug. 16, Kentucky had 17 pediatric admissions for COVID-19, the state’s highest ever total. The previous highest number was 12 admissions in December 2020.
The United States is reporting record COVID-19 hospitalizations in children. Alabama has reported it only has two ICU beds still available. Mississippi public health officials confirmed another child has died from COVID-19 complications, the state’s fifth pediatric death since March 2020.
COVID-19 Update
Kentuckians Vaccinated
Number of people who have received at least one vaccine dose in Kentucky: 2,425,305
Number of people vaccinated in Kentucky over the past 24 hours: 5,863
As of Aug. 15, there were only 17 Kentucky counties where at least 50% of residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
From March 1 to Aug. 16, 2021, 86.8% of COVID-19 cases, 90.5% of COVID-19 hospitalizations and 87.4% of COVID-19 deaths in the state were among partially vaccinated or unvaccinated Kentuckians.
August 16, 2021 Case Information (Most Recent Available)
New Cases: 2,100
Positivity Rate: 12.40%
Hospitalizations: 1,528 (up from 1,139 Aug. 9)
Intensive Care Admittances: 429 (up from 331 Aug. 9)
On Ventilators: 224 (up from 158 Aug. 9)
Kentucky’s case numbers and positivity rate have continued to rise rapidly after record lows for the past year were recorded for both metrics in June.
From Aug. 9-15, 17,935 Kentuckians were diagnosed with COVID-19, up from 13,903 the week of Aug. 2-8, and up from 1,024 the week of June 21-27 (the week the state reported its lowest number of cases in more than a year).
During the week ending Aug. 15, the state’s average COVID-19 positivity rate was 12.19%, up from 10.57% the week ending Aug. 8, and up from 1.84% the week ending June 27. (The week ending June 27, the state reported its lowest positivity rate ever since adequate testing supplies have been available; the last comparable positivity rate, 2.01%, was reported the week ending May 17, 2020.)
Dr. Stack said a variety of hospitals across the state have already started canceling and postponing non-urgent, but important, surgeries and other procedures that would require admission to the hospital for overnight stays. He added that larger receiving hospitals in Kentucky are receiving calls from hospitals in Louisiana and Alabama seeking ICU beds to transfer patients to them; and reports from Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Missouri and Louisiana saying there are no beds available in these states.
“Critical access hospitals in Kentucky are beginning to report difficulty getting their patients accepted at larger hospitals in Kentucky,” said Dr. Stack. “In one instance, a hospital called 10 other hospitals and was unable to receive an accepting hospital to take their patient.”