Andy Beshear updated Kentuckians on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in his press conference Monday.
“The message is pretty simple: Omicron is spreading faster than anything we’ve ever seen, and it looks like this might be one of the most contagious viruses in modern history,” said Beshear.
“Unfortunately, some of the therapeutics won’t work on it. But what does work is being vaccinated and being boosted. If you haven’t gotten vaccinated yet, please consider doing it now.”
The Governor also reported that, according to the company, Moderna’s COVID-19 booster dose should offer protection against the omicron variant. Lab tests revealed the half-dose booster shot increased by 37 times the level of antibodies able to fight omicron and a full-dose booster generated an 83-fold jump in antibodies.
They did note that the full-dose booster had an increase in the usual side effects. The full-dose booster is recommended for people with weakened immune systems; the half-dose booster is more commonly administered. Similar results have been found in tests of Pfizer’s booster shots.
“So the message here again is, these vaccines are helping to prevent severe disease and we need everyone to go get a Pfizer or Moderna booster as soon as they’re eligible,” Gov. Beshear said.
COVID-19 Case Information, Vaccinations Update
Number of people who have received at least one vaccine dose in Kentucky: 2,749,942
Number of people who have received a vaccination booster in Kentucky: 777,448
Dec. 18,
Cases: 2,575
Deaths: 32
Dec. 19
Cases: 1,531
Deaths: 29
Dec. 20
Cases 1,215
Deaths: 32
Positivity Rate: 9.20%
Hospitalizations: 1,206
Intensive Care Admittances: 325
Currently on Ventilators: 176
During the week ending Dec. 19, 15,588 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Kentucky, and the average test positivity rate was 9.06%.
