LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As frustration grows over the rollout of Kentucky's COVID-19 vaccination program, Gov. Andy Beshear is urging patience.
In an interview with WDRB News, Beshear said the major problem right now is supply.
"We are now vaccinating more people than we are receiving doses. Which means we are very efficient at it. Our only limitation is supply," said Beshear.
The state has rolled out the first of several regional vaccination centers in Lexington, and the governor acknowledged that appointments are almost impossible to get.
"The real challenge is so many people are trying to get an appointment that you can't get through, and I know that's frustrating. But it's that one thing we can't control -- and that's supply.”
Beshear said he expects an increase in doses as early as next week, but it will not be the double supply he has requested from the federal government.
"We have asked for double. If we have three major issues with vaccines, it's supply, supply, and supply," he said.
"We got our first increase under the Biden administration that is coming this next week. It's about 16 or 17 percent, and that's good, but it's not enough."
Beshear said he understands the frustration Kentuckians are experiencing.
"I get that everybody is frustrated. Everyone's frustrated they don't have it right now. That's really natural," Beshear said.
"But it's going to take all the best of us, and using patience, and knowing that right now we're vaccinating those most at risk. We're working to get our schools back open."
Beshear said he is encouraged by the news that a third manufacturer, Johnson and Johnson, may be close to getting emergency authorization.
"That will increase supply, too. We'll have to be thoughtful about how we use that one versus the others, but it's a single shot. It's easy to store and easy to deploy. We need a lot more, but so does everybody around the country."
Beshear said, right now, there are still only two known cases of the more contagious UK COVID-19 strain in Kentucky.
"We don't yet have any real data that it's more deadly. But if there are cases, then there are more bad outcomes. Not because that strain is deadlier but because more people get it."
The governor asked Kentuckians to keep masking and social distancing because the return to normalcy will be gradual and will take several months.
"Really, as we get into the summer, especially if we get these extra 200 million doses the federal government has bought from Moderna and Pfizer, that's when things may very quickly change for the better."
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