County in bottom 5 statewide in taking COVID shots

Despite COVID-19 vaccines being abundantly available in the Lake Cumberland District Health Department (LCDHD), and despite Lake Cumberland’s death rate (1.92%) from COVID-19 being higher than the state average (1.46%), and the national average (1.78%); and, despite LCDHD’s hospitalization rate (5.58%) being higher than the state average (4.93%), the LCDHD is showing a particularly poor uptake rate for the COVID-19 vaccine. Of the total population of the state, the federal COVID-19 vaccination dashboard shows that 41% of Kentuckians have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Unfortunately, every county in the LCDHD is below the state average (with McCreary being in the bottom 5 counties in the state). For the district, the vaccination rates are as follows: Taylor – 33.23%, Pulaski – 31.72%, Russell – 30.88%, Green – 27.89%, Cumberland – 26.98%, Adair – 25.06%, Wayne – 25.04%, Casey – 22.67%, Clinton – 21.92%, and McCreary – 19.93% (one of the bottom 5 counties in the state.)
This data is collected using the Tiberius Platform, a federal system that has been used in COVID vaccination efforts to guide logistic-related decisions. Health department officials have been told the information that is being collected is based on the individual county of residence rather than the location that the vaccine was administered. COVID Vaccination updates can be found at this website as well: https://dashboard.chfs.ky.gov/views/KYPublicFacingDashboard_1619100058
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As of May 11, McCreary had gone from the green “on track” category to the yellow “community spread” category after experiencing an increase in the number of active cases.
Don’t forget that at both the world level and in several states, there are sharp increases in new COVID-19 cases. Therefore, please do not assume that the pandemic is completely over and take the vaccine as soon as possible. Also, until a significant percentage of the population has taken the vaccine, everyone needs to do their part in slowing the spread of COVID-19 by wearing face coverings, avoiding crowds (especially in confined spaces), social distancing when around others, increasing hand hygiene, increasing general sanitation, and by avoiding touching our faces.

(In McCreary County, COVID-19 vaccinations are being given at several locations including: Whitley Family Medical Center, Appalachian Family Care in Pine Knot, Walgreens and Kroger’s Pharmacies in Whitley City, and the McCreary County Health Department (Lake Cumberland) in Whitley City.)