Kentuckians curious about when they qualify for and can schedule COVID-19 vaccinations will soon be able to find that information in one centralized site online, as the state opens a number of regional vaccination centers.
The state is teaming up with Kroger to set up regional drive-thru vaccination operations across the state, with a start date of February 1st. At that time, Kentuckians who fall in phases 1A, 1B, and 1C — that includes all residents 60 and over, those falling into the CDC's list of essential workers, and anyone with high-risk conditions — will be able to start scheduling appointments.
State Transportation Secretary and former Lexington Mayor Jim Gray is heading up the effort.
"We are creating tools to ease the process of getting an appointment, building a registration website where Kentuckians can go to determine when they're eligible for the vaccine and to schedule appointments. We'll also be establishing a hotline," Gray said during the governor's Thursday coronavirus update.
Both the website and hotline are set to launch January 28th.
Essential Workers include:
- Healthcare Personnel
- First Responders (Firefighters, Police)
- Corrections
- Education (Teachers, Support Staff, Daycare)
- Food & Agriculture
- Manufacturing
- U.S. Postal Service Workers
- Public Transit Workers
- Grocery Store Workers
- Transportation and Logistics
- Food Service Shelter & Housing (Construction)
- Finance
- IT & Communication
- Energy
- Media
- Legal
- Public Safety (Engineers)
- Water & Wastewater
High-Risk Conditions include:
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Down Syndrome
- Heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant
- Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 kg/m2 or higher but < 40 kg/m2)
- Severe Obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2)
- Pregnancy
- Sickle cell disease
- Smoking
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
