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Vaccinations Begin Feb. 2 At Ephraim McDowell Health

McDowell One Of Four Regional Vaccination Centers Selected By State

Navy Seaman Milan Torres prepares a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 14, 2020. (Image: Lisa Ferdinando, U.S. Department of Defense).

Robert Moore

Herald Staff

rmoore@harrodsburgherald.com

Ephraim McDowell Health has been named a regional vaccination center for administering the COVID-19 vaccine. McDowell will begin administering shots at their Danville Surgical Center by appointment only on Tuesday, Feb. 2.

Starting out, the vaccine will be available for individuals in tier 1A (long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities and healthcare personnel) and tier 1B (first responders, anyone age 70 or older, and K-12 school personnel). Supplies are limited.

Anyone in tier 1A or 1B should visit www.emhealth.org for scheduling information. The shots will be administered on the second floor of the Gilcher Building (Surgery Center, 230 West Main Street in Danville), which is located behind the City Parking Garage.

McDowell is one of four regional vaccination centers opening next week. In addition, the state, in partnership with Kroger Health, will open sites at the Kentucky Horse Park in Fayette County and Western Baptist and Lourdes Mercy, both in Paducah.

On Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear said more regional partner sites will be added soon. Beshear also unveiled a new state website, vaccine.ky.gov, and hotline that help Kentuckians determine if they are eligible to receive a vaccine and then helps them find one in their region.

By answering a series of questions, Kentuckians can determine if they are currently eligible for a vaccine and be directed to a map of available vaccines sites across the state. Kentuckians not currently eligible for a shot are encouraged to sign up for text or email updates by entering their name, county of residence and an email or phone number. The sign-up will provide alerts when a person’s eligibility changes or when vaccines are available in the area.

Kentuckians who do not have internet access can call 855-598-2246 or TTY 855-326-4654 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Gov. Beshear said Kentucky, like other states, receives its vaccine doses from the federal government and due to limited supplies it will take time before everyone can be vaccinated.

Earlier this week, Gov. Beshear announced the federal government will increase each state’s supply of COVID-19 vaccines by 17-percent and are guaranteeing a minimum supply for three consecutive weeks.

The governor said Kentucky has three specific challenges, all related to a limited supply of the vaccine. First, the small number of doses the state receives compared to the very large number of health care providers. Second, the state does not have enough vaccine doses or small enough vaccine batches to distribute them equitably on a county by county basis–instead the state is distributing equitably by region. Finally, as the state moves into larger and larger phases, the type of infrastructure needed from providers to accommodate patient needs changes.

Case Information

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, the state reported the following COVID-19 numbers:

New cases: 2,947
New deaths: 69
Positivity rate: 9.04-percent
Total deaths: 3,611
Currently hospitalized: 1,561
Currently in ICU: 370
Currently on ventilator: 205.

So far, 355,877 Kentuckians have been infected, while 42,684 have been listed as having recovered.

Locally, there are 243 active cases, with 12 people in hospital and 231 at home and 169 in quarantine. So far, 41 Mercer County residents have died, according to the Mercer County Health Department, while 1,441 have been listed as having recovered.

Across the world, there are more than101-million confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University, with more than a quarter of them—25.7-million—here in the United States, which remains the global epicenter for the pandemic. So far, more than 2.1-million deaths have been recorded, with 433,431 of them recorded here in the U.S.

3 Comments

  1. Elizabeth M. Hardin on January 29, 2021 at 3:15 pm

    I have been trying the line at EMH all day to schedule a vaccine , cannot get through. What is the problem? I am 1B my daughter is 1C. I would like to come in sometimes next week for the first dose. Thank You.

    • Harrodsburg Herald on February 3, 2021 at 7:39 am

      They received over 180,000 calls the day after the announcement. The first two days are booked up.

  2. Jackie Reynolds and Gary Reynolds on January 30, 2021 at 8:20 pm

    My husband is disabled and I’m his caretaker he is 71 and I’m 75

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