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| Kentucky Health News graph, based on initial state reports. |
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
As coronavirus cases in Kentucky remain on a high plateau, Kentucky reported 111 more Covid-19 deaths over the last two days, with 70 of them on Friday, the second highest number of deaths reported in one day.
Deaths are a lagging indicator of cases and state health officials have warned that Covid-related deaths will likely remain high through the end of the year.
The 111 deaths raise the pandemic death toll to 10,214. The 14-day death average is 32.07; the seven-day death average is 39.43, the highest its been since Oct. 5.
On Sunday, Nov. 14, Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman will host a memorial service to honor the more than 10,000 Kentuckians who have died from Covid-19. During the service, to be held on the Capitol grounds, Beshear will announce the artist who has been selected to create the permanent Covid-19 memorial.
Kentucky reported 1,670 new coronavirus cases Thursday and 1,296 Friday, raising the seven-day average to 1,316 Thursday and lowering it to 1,299 Friday, although today's average is higher than Wednesday's when it was 1,278.
A daily report was not issued Thursday in observance of Veterans Day. Those numbers were released today.
Of Friday's cases, 32% are in people 18 and under. Nationwide, the weekly American Academy of Pediatric state-level data report warns that "Covid cases among children remain extremely high." In Kentucky, 20.4% of all cases have been in people under the age of 20, says the report.
Among Kentucky youth, 1% of 5-11-year-olds, 43% of 12-15-year-olds and 47% of 16-17-year-olds have received at least one dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
Children under the age of 11 should only get a Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine that comes out of an orange-top vial. The purple-capped vials are only for people 12 and older. They are not interchangeable. The wrong Covid-19 vaccine dose was given to over 100 children between the ages of 5-11 at a Virginia pharmacy, resulting "in these children receiving a lower dose than recommended," the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.
The share of Kentuckians testing positive for the virus in the past seven days is 5.53%, where it has hovered for about a week.
On Friday, hospitals reported 703 Covid-19 patients, an increase of eight from Thursday; 193 in intensive care units (up 10); and 102 of them on mechanical ventilation (the same).
Eight of the state's 10 hospital regions are using at least 80% of their intensive care unit capacity, with four of them at over 90%.
The seven-day infection rate is 24.85 daily cases per 100,000 residents. Counties with double that rate are Powell, 83.2; Breckinridge, 73.3; Harrison, 68.1; and Robertson, 67.8. The New York Times ranks Kentucky 26th among states for this measure.
On Thursday, the state's seven-day incidence rate almost hit 25 cases per 100,000 (24.95), considered to be a high level of transmission. Kentucky has 51 counties in the "red zone," for counties with more than 25 daily cases per 100,000 residence.
So far, 2.6 million Kentuckians have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, or 58% of the total population.
At the University of Kentucky, students and employees who are not vaccinated are required to be tested for Covid-19 weekly and those who don't comply face disciplinary action. About 90% of the university community has been vaccinated, Monica Kast reports for the Herald-Leader.
Because of this policy, UK has placed 24 employees on administrative leave without pay for not complying with its testing policies, Kast reports. Additionally, Jay Blanton, a UK spokesperson, said 146 students have not been compliant with the university's testing and vaccination requirements this semester and these students will receive an interim suspension on Jan. 9, the first day of the spring semester.
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