Gov. Beshear Gives Update On COVID-19 Delta Variant

Unvaccinated Kentuckians are urged to take additional precautions.

(Frankfort, Ky.) – Governor Andy Beshear provided an update on the COVID-19 delta variant on Monday.

Joined by Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Public Health, the governor encouraged unvaccinated Kentuckians and Kentuckians in jobs that require consistent contact with the public to take additional precautions.

Those precautions include:

• All unvaccinated Kentuckians should wear masks indoors when not in their home;
• Kentuckians at higher risk from COVID-19 due to pre-existing conditions should wear masks indoors when not in their home;
• Vaccinated Kentuckians in jobs with significant public exposure should consider wearing a mask at work; and
• All unvaccinated Kentuckians, when eligible, should be vaccinated immediately.

“We have the most aggressive variant that we have seen to date in our battle against COVID. It’s a serious, even deadly, threat to unvaccinated Kentuckians,” said Gov. Beshear. “If more adults don’t get vaccinated, it’s not just adults who pay the price. It’s our kids who will. Many of them can’t get vaccinated yet, and they count on us to make good decisions and do the right thing.”

Vaccines appear to be highly effective against the delta variant, according to a report from Public Health England.

The report shows that the Pfizer vaccine is 96 percent effective against hospitalization after two doses, while the AstraZeneca vaccine is 92 percent effective.

Dr. Stack says hospitalizations have surged more than 30 percent in the past two weeks and more than 80 percent in states such as Nevada, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Nationwide, 97 percent of COVID-19 related hospitalizations are among those who have not yet been vaccinated.

“Getting vaccinated is a choice,” said Dr. Stack. “We’ve said that all along. It’s your choice. It’s an incredibly important choice. It’s a choice that should you choose to get vaccinated, you protect yourself and also all the others who are both vaccinated and unvaccinated because the more of us who are vaccinated, the less the virus is able to spread, to infect people and to hurt people. If you choose not to get vaccinated, that is your choice as well, but it is a particularly dangerous choice.”