Kentuckians age 16 and older eligible for COVID-19 vaccine starting April 5

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky will expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to residents age 16 and older earlier than expected.

Starting Monday, April 5, residents age 16 and older will be eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine, and residents age 18 and older will be eligible for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday. Those age limits were determined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Beshear originally targeted April 12 for a "complete opening" of Kentucky's vaccination appointments. On Wednesday, he cited increases in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations among younger people in other states as reasons for expanding eligibility.

"What we're seeing is that the vaccines work, and older Americans have gotten it; we're seeing more younger Americans ending up in the hospital," Beshear said. This, we believe, is because of the more aggressive variants. We want to get ahead of them."

One week after the eligibility expansion, Kentucky's largest drive-thru vaccination clinic will open April 12 at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville. Officials with UofL Health said they expect to administer between 4,000-5,000 vaccine doses at the site per day over seven weeks.

Norton Healthcare is also opening a vaccination site Thursday at Whitney Young Elementary (3526 W Muhammad Ali Blvd.) in west Louisville. To make an appointment, click here or call 888-777-7219.

Beshear on Wednesday also celebrated news from Pfizer that its vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12. In the vaccine study of 2,260 U.S. volunteers ages 12 to 15, preliminary data showed there were no cases of COVID-19 among fully vaccinated adolescents compared to 18 among those given dummy shots, Pfizer reported.

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech in the coming weeks plan to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European regulators to allow emergency use of the shots starting at age 12.

"That'd mean just about all middle and high school students could be vaccinated certainly before they step in the classroom in the fall," Beshear said. "... Certainly, we all hope to be back to fully normal by the fall, but this is one way that's gonna help get us there."

Additionally, Beshear said Kentucky's prisons "are scheduled to receive the amount they need for all their vaccinations" by Friday, April 2, or Monday, April 5. All interested inmates should be able to receive the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine as soon as next week except those at the Kentucky State Penitentiary and the Western Kentucky Correctional Complex, which Beshear said are recovering from recent outbreaks.

According to the state's vaccination dashboard, 1,352,477 Kentuckians had received at least the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine as of Wednesday. For COVID-19 vaccine information and locations in Kentucky, click here. For additional information about getting signed up to get vaccinated, click here or here.

The state is still providing free or reduced-cost transportation to and from vaccination appointments. Click here for a list of participating transportation agencies, or call Kentucky's COVID-19 Vaccine Hotline at 855-598-2246.

Kentucky reports less than 850 new COVID-19 cases, 25 more virus-related deaths

Health officials on Wednesday reported 815 new COVID-19 cases in Kentucky alongside 25 more deaths in which the virus was a contributing factor.

"Today's COVID report suggests that it's gonna be real close this week in whether or not we have our 12th (consecutive) week of declining cases or we start to see a plateau," Beshear said.

Of the deaths reported Wednesday, three were tied to the state's ongoing audit of death certificates. In total, at least 6,090 Kentuckians have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

Kentucky's positivity rate, which measures the proportion of coronavirus tests returning positive, was 2.96% on Wednesday, according to a report from Kentucky Public Health. The rate is an indicator of the extent of the spread of the virus, the World Health Organization says. If the rate is less than 5% for two weeks and testing is widespread, the virus is considered under control.

Data show 413 Kentuckians currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 110 being treated for the virus in intensive care units. Forty-eight patients were on ventilators.

For most people, COVID-19 causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. The vast majority of people recover. Of the state's 324,813 confirmed cases reported since March 2020, at least 49,678 have recovered, according to Kentucky Public Health.

But for others, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.

To find a COVID-19 testing location near you, click here.

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