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Stars old and new celebrated at Kentucky Music Hall of Fame

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Annual Kentucky Book Festival returns for 42nd year

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Annual Kentucky Book Festival returns for 42nd year

Annual Kentucky Book Festival returns for 42nd year
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Uninsured Rates Rise Dramatically in States with Strictest Health Insurance Regulations

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The Kentucky Healthcare Experiment: How "Managed Competition"Clamps Down on Choice and Competition

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The Kentucky Healthcare Experiment: How "Managed Competition"Clamps Down on Choice and Competition

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Learn about German holiday traditions in Cullman, Alabama

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Kentucky updates COVID-19 vaccine sign-up process to stop Ohioans from receiving shots

Kentucky updates COVID-19 vaccine sign-up process to stop Ohioans from receiving shots
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Updated: 7:37 PM EST Feb 25, 2021
WLWT Digital Staff
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Updated: 7:37 PM EST Feb 25, 2021
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Good evening, Team Kentucky. This is Lieutenant Governor Jacqueline Coleman, and I am here with some good news items today and some information to share with all of you. Uh, related Thio a few initiatives. First, I'm gonna start with the Kentucky Broadband Initiative. Reminder that we need every single Kentucky in to go thio speed test dot k y dot gov. In order to take the speed test, which will give us data, we need to build a map across Kentucky of the high end low points of Internet connectivity. That map then will provide guidance for our public and private partners to be able to help us spring broadband to the last mile on connect every Kentucky household that we possibly can to affordable, reliable Internet. And so, before we can begin to do that, we really need everyone to go toe speed test. Okay, y dot gov and provide us with the information that we need to build the most accurate map. And I wanna make a note here that, uh, the two places that we have a pretty low participation from our our big cities. So, folks in Lexington and Louisville, we really need you to go to speed test dot k y dot gov and give us that data that we need. It doesn't matter where you live. We still need you, Thio, help us to build this map. And so the deadline has been extended to march 1st and we need is many Kentucky. And to take part in this as possible, I'm really happy to announce that we have talked to the 72,000 number for people who have participated. So if you've participated, make sure that you remind your family and friends to do so, too. Next up, we have a really exciting announcement about childcare here in Kentucky. You know, every every single family in Kentucky knows that the Cove in 19 Pandemic has had a profound impact on our child care system, which has had a profound impact on all of our employees and employers across the state as well. The coronavirus has forced over 300 Kentucky childcare facilities to close over the last year, some only temporarily, but some also permanently. But I am proud to announce that there is help on the way for Kentucky families and for our childcare providers. The Division of Child Care at the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, has received a $195.5 million in federal childcare aid through the 2021 Cares Act. This money will be used in a variety of ways to reach Kentucky INS in all 120 counties, including short term necessities such as training and technical assistance to keep our work and learning environment safe. But this funding will address larger structural needs within the childcare system by helping jumpstart hiring requirements like background checks and fingerprint scans, as well as providing copayment assistance for parents who benefit from child care subsidies. Despite the hardship faced by childcare centers in Kentucky are states. It's well below the anticipated 40% of closure rates for child care centers across the country. Currently, Kentucky has lost fewer than 8% of it centers in the past year. But even so, we know that many programs need help quickly, and this new stream of federal funding will help us to make sure that we don't come close to that national average. We're in the process of building a child care system that works for every Kentucky family and This is a huge step towards reaching our future goals again. That is $195.5 million in federal childcare aid, uh, coming from the Cabinet for health and family services to all of our childcare providers and families who need support. Next up, we have a great agriculture announcement. It is F f a week. And so I am particularly excited to share some really good agriculture news today, the Kentucky Soil and Water Conservation Commission has selected 592 Kentucky farm projects in 86 counties to receive a total of $5.9 million in tobacco settlement funds. The money will be used for practices that improve water quality and prevent soil erosion on farmland that provides an economic backbone in rural communities across the Commonwealth. Specifically, these funds will provide more sustainable opportunities for farm owners, such as providing alternative water source for livestock fencing to facilitate rotational grazing or growing cover crops. Over the past 27 years, the commission, administered by the Division of Conservation, has obligated more than $170 million in state cost share funding. These funds are distributed with the assistance of the 121 Soil and Water Conservation District across Kentucky. The Bashir Coleman administration is proud to continue this work. Bringing resource is and support to rural Kentucky We understand how vital local farms are to Kentucky's economy, and we're helping to keep them productive for generations to come. Next up, we have a transportation announcement that is related. Thio backs are COV 19 vaccines. I want to share information on an exciting initiative to ensure that all Kentucky INS can receive their shot of hope. We want all Kentucky and you wish to get vaccinated, get vaccinated to be able to do so. And we do not want transportation to be a barrier. Public transit agencies across the Commonwealth are offering free or reduced cost transportation to and from vaccination appointments. These services are already operating in 99 counties covering 75% of all counties across Kentucky, our public transit agencies or helping us meet our critical goal to provide vaccines to Kentucky into our homebound or need transportation assistance. And we are grateful for their service to our communities. As we progress through the phased rollout of the vaccine, we know that planning for transportation, maybe an integral step for many Kentucky INS. You confined transportation services near you right now by heading to K y co vid 19 dot k y dot gov for a full list of participating public transit agencies and their phone numbers to get in touch across thes transportation services. Please know that masks are required. We must continue our actions to stop the spread, even on the way to and home from receiving our shot of hope. If you have any questions about the services, you can find more information on K Wachovia 19 dot k y dot gov or call our covert vaccine hotline at 8555982246 or 8553264654 For deaf or hard of hearing Kentucky INS and last up, I have some really great pictures to share from my my travels today. Uh, I was able to visit several vaccination sites across eastern Kentucky, and I have to tell you that I just left each one of them feeling more energized and more inspired, not just from the hope uh, then I know the Kentucky ins that we're getting the shot feel, but because of the gratitude that I felt for the people working in those hospitals and and bearing the burden of this pandemic for the last year. So this first picture is a group of nurses, um, at the hazard Regional Health care or that started the Appalachian Regional Healthcare Center in Hazzard. Um, you'll notice that all of their shirts say essential. And this is a really cool thing that they've done this year. They normally give a Star Award thio one of their employees like an employee of the Year Award. But this year they decided that they couldn't pick just one. And so that's why all of those nurses have on the essential T shirt because they basically named every single employee, uh, their Star Award winner this year, which I thought was was, um, pretty remarkable and pretty indicative of what it means to be on on Teen Kentucky. The second picture that you'll see from Hazard, um, is me again with some folks that are working in the in the hospital. Um and, uh, we have Molly, who was actually the Star Award winner from last year, who was really grateful to have the opportunity, she said, to make sure to keep the train on the tracks and to keep folks coming in for their vaccines. And it was remarkable to see. And I want to say, a special thank you also pictured here to the chief medical officer, Maria Rahman, who was a great, uh, source of of knowledge and information for me. Um, and certainly a great sense of hope for everyone who comes through that center to get their shot of hope. So things in Hazzard were pretty remarkable today. Next up, a visit pipe all and you'll see in this first picture from Pikeville. Um, this is a group of pharmacists and nurses who were preparing the vaccinations and then administering the vaccinations in their drive through line that they had set up the efficiency and effectiveness. Uh, and the infrastructure that these health care centers and hospitals have created in the midst of a pandemic is nothing short of a miracle. Uh, these folks were just as as, um, excited and energized today, a Z. They were when this started, and that speaks volumes to their commitment and their character, Um, the next picture from Pikeville. You'll see. I'm standing there with the folks who are directing the cars into the line. They're checking folks in getting people lined up to be able to come in and get their shot of hope. And the interesting part about this is all of these folks work at the hospital and playful. But what's great about it is these are the folks that have volunteered additional working hours, and they're also working outside of the offices they normally work in. So they volunteered, and and they've been moved around to be able thio lows, gaps and and make this system work as efficiently as possible. And so, for these people who are volunteering their time over time in places that they're not used to working in again says everything we need to know about the sacrifice their healthcare heroes are making every day. And so I want to say a special thank you to Donovan Blackburn, who is the head of the hospital in Pikeville for a remarkable tour. Um, that that he gave us today and all of the information that he shared that I could bring back with me and of course, Governor Patton was there, uh, to greet us as well. And that was that was a great person to see and be able to catch up with. So last but not least, our final stop was impressed. Ensberg, again at the Appalachian Regional Healthcare Center, impressed Ensberg. You'll see here the pictures of the folks that I'm talking to are the nurses who are checking people in who are administering the vaccination and then who are checking on on folks afterwards to make sure that, um, everyone gets home safely. So, um, we had Tim Hatfield, the CEO at the hospital in Preston. Zberg actually Mayor less. Stapleton and County Judge executive Robert Williams was there to greet us as well. Um, and we had the mayor, uh, mobile any. And Hazard and And the county Judge executive, Scott Alexander was there to greet us as well. And that is, uh, a perfect example of the collaboration that has gone on in these communities across Kentucky. Every stop I made, uh, we were hearing about how local government and health departments and hospitals and, um, our school systems had all come together. Volunteers from local businesses were helping out s so they could continue to meet the needs of their citizens. And I just I just kept thinking that this is exactly what the governor means when he says we're all on Team Kentucky. I got to see it live in person today. And I was I gave the governor credit. His leadership has has made sure that it's a sure that we are a state that is leading the nation in our cove in 19 response in many ways. Um, and he would tell he would agree when I say this, Uh, but the boots on the ground, the people who were on the front lines doing that work every day, um, has made his leadership possible. And so, um, I had a great visit. Um, I'm or inspired And, um, you know, grateful, uh, than ever for the folks that I got to meet today and look them in the eye and say thank you for everything they've done in the last year and for everything that will do to get us out of this pandemic. So with that, I will turn it over to governor this year. Yeah. Now, thank you. To Lieutenant Governor Coleman going to any of these vaccination sites and she's right over here is a moving experience. It's it's hard to describe the emotions that you feel it's It's a mix off of hope and relief and belief. It's It's a special feeling where there's this positive energy that we've all tried to stay positive the last 11 months. But it's almost electric, and you can feel it in between people that while you're still trying, Thio keeps, um, social distance. You feel this common purpose and and you can see beyond cove it for the first time in so long. So thank you for thank you for thanking all those people that are that are doing such such great work. Alright, folks, it zits five o'clock today. It's like the remix. Um, we're back showing photos of people doing good things. I feel like I'm supposed to yell at Kenneth or roll my eyes at some point today. Um, but I appreciate you all being willing thio, uh, to accommodate this change. Today for me was the National Governors Association meeting that I got to do in person in D. C. Last year, my kids got to see a lot of D. C. They've never been there. Um, this year was different, but I was honored to be able to lead a session today on transportation with our U. S. Secretary of Transportation and then just left a governors meeting with the with the president. So a lot of opportunity to talk about our Kentucky needs to put out there how many of our workers have been displaced by changes in either the energy economy and trying to make sure it doesn't happen with the transportation economy. So please know that any time that I get these opportunities, I don't care about fighting for you, making sure that Kentucky has heard and making sure that Kentucky has a seat at the table toe where all of our families and it doesn't matter what party you're in or where you are in the state that you are counted and that you are heard. All right. Um, today we have, ah, covert report that that is sadly and positively more of the same and what we're seeing today, we're reporting 1447 new cases of of Cove in 19. Now, right now, we were just barely on track to be above last week. But we can now tell you based on the data we're looking at that last week's numbers were depressed a little bit because of of testing, which was the weather. The weather hit. How many people were being tested last Wednesday? And this is trying to get us close to the data as we can, um, of last week with the weather, only 9600 people got tested. 14,000 got tested this Wednesday. The numbers are even more stark on different days. So what I think is is we're gonna see a little bit of an aberration in our continued downward trend. Mhm. But that but for the weather, we would see a continued, uh, steady downward trend. Uh, Kentucky is currently hospitalized down 42 843. That's good news. Eight. Lest in the I C. U 10 more on a ventilator, this is all due to Cove. It generally pretty stable. Our positivity rate the best news of the day, down the 5.67%. We want to see that continue to drop. That's the leading indicator, as opposed to the lagging indicator, which are cases that tell us that we have had a natural downward progression. But the hard thing is, we're still dealing with the impact of the winter search, and we're still seeing the devastation that is co vid we've lost now. Well over 500,000 Americans talk a lot about Kentucky ends, and we should. But how? Americans? We're all members of this country. And now that we've lost more than World War two, World War One and Vietnam combined, we've got to know that this has been in many ways, the War of Wars and that our loss is significant and tragic. And even as we come out of this, even as we see that hope in front of us, that we have lost so much and our trauma is going to endure and we're gonna have to give ourselves space Andi understanding As we come out of this, it's likely that there will be those days where we think we should be so happy that there's no more cove it. But we're still hurting so much because off everyone and everything lost during it. So let's let's go ahead and let's try to prepare ourselves for what's to come knowing that an event like this with what it inflicts is gonna is gonna take us a while to get over. And and there's the question of Do we truly want to get over everything of it with what it's taught us with, how it's shown us, we're all interconnected, So let's make sure we take stock of that as we look at the light at the end of the tunnel. What brought me to the this point? You know, kind of the hard point is that we're reporting 43 deaths today. Now most of those air recent Some of them are ones that have gone through our committee. But regardless, it's 43 additional. Kentucky is lost, and that makes it a hard day. If there is a bright spot, only five of them were in long term care, or that we know they're in long term care. Now, meeting vaccinations work. If you're out there, please, please get vaccinated. This is the way that we get out of this and we stop having days where we lose 45. Kentucky and Strycova. Today's deaths include a 73 year old man from Bell, a 95 year old man from Boone, 78 year old man from Elliot, 91 year old man from Fat, three Floyd County residents to women ages 59 80 then a 72 year old man, 75 year old man from Graves, a 60 year old woman from Harden. A 70 year old man from Henry, 21 year old woman from Hopkins County. A number from Jefferson. Women ages 70 76 78 81. And men, ages 57 63 79 79 81 90 and 97. 95 year old woman from Kitten, a 73 year old man from Laurel. 79 year old man from Laurel. A 67 year old woman from Lawrence County. Two individuals from a cracking, a woman aged 78 a man aged 79. 62 year old man from McCreery in Madison to individuals. Both men, ages 84 85. 65 year old man from Marshall. Two individuals from me, both men, ages 72 87 49. A 49 year old man from Menifee. A sudden gotten easier and 11 months I mean every day you feel People's loss. 80 85 year old woman from Nelson, Two men from Nelson, ages 89 93. 72 year old man from Perry, 58 year old man from Pulaski, 71 year old woman from Shelby, an 87 year old man from Spencer, a 72 year old man from Taylor. We've been out this so long that we could be in a place where we're numb. But who would we be? Would we be if we were at that place? And while we've seen from some, you know, I don't want to call it indifference. Maybe it's maybe it's denial. The the emotions they're gonna pour out of us is we come out of this and Lord, I pray that were coming out of this. They're gonna be tough. So let's acknowledge it as we go. I'll talk about the better news. Let's talk about vaccinations and don't let anybody tell you different vaccinations are going incredibly well in Kentucky. Remember when we showed you last week, Um, that that, you know, we had We had only gotten a fraction of of what we expected in delivery, but we had put 98.5% of every first dose that had ever come into the state in someone's arm. And that's where we wanna be given out doses faster than the federal government provides them. So let's first look at Table one on vaccinations. Okay, that's 646,836 Kentucky INS in less than a year from our first case, have received their first shot of hope and are developing some level of immunity. That's at least 14.7% of our population if you go people 18 and older, which is one of the ways that the CDC looks at it because only one of the vaccines is 16 and up once 18 and up, that's 19 to 20% of our population. Now, remember, let's look at number two, table two, that when you look at this last week, was disruptive. Last week, we expected on first doses to get about 71,000 doses, we got, uh, 6825. So what we did is we used every remaining bit that was out there, but you know it, it shows. I mean, we had vaccinated more than 63,871 people beginning January 5th up until last week. But listen, there's good news when you look at this. We got 152,710 doses this week and in a day and a half because we get him on about Tuesday so you could only start him on Wednesday and this report comes out. I want to know about 10 a.m. Today. We've already vaccinated 38,000, 522 people. That's some of the fastest we've done in a day and a half. Now I will admit, I don't know. That was short notice that we can rise from our record of 82,578 people vaccinated in a week. 252,710. But I know everybody out there that the lieutenant governor talked about is trying like Heck wants to get as many people vaccinated. It's possible this process is going incredibly well thanks to so many people working so hard. But I do want to make sure that you know that we will never judge ourselves in Kentucky by the how quick the second dose gets to people. When we start doing that, it means we are sending it out willy nilly, every single second doses for a specific individual that we want to get to that higher level of effectiveness of the vaccine. That's what the FDA tells us to do. That's what the CDC tells us to dio, and that's what we're gonna dio talk about. Vaccine sites, um, vaccine sites. As of our announcement today, at least 410 across Kentucky last week we had 291 sites, and now we're adding 119 for this upcoming week. Regional sites We previously have 57. We're adding six this week. Those include Rock Castle County Hospital, Caldwell County Hospital, Cumberland County Hospital Baptist Cells, Richmond Twin Lakes Regional Hospital and Owens Borough Health and Muilenburg and Kroger. We have 10 new sites for a total of 30 two in Florence, one in Erlanger, one in Shelbyville, one in Louisville to a Nicholas fill, one in Winchester, one in Somerset, one in Hopkinsville. Wal Mart locations air now up to 35 meaning we've added 10 new sites and those air in the counties of Rowen, Wayne Simpson, Davis, Union, Lincoln, Grant, Montgomery Marien and Pike Bet early qualified health centers. We now have 12 centers with multiple locations. That includes centers in Jefferson McLean, Webster Caldwell, Casey Russell, Wayne McCreary. I'm sorry, Rachel. I got I got moving there. Um, in Green counties, we have 61 local health departments on through the federal pharmacy program, which includes Walgreens and independent local pharmacies. There are now 215. And let me tell you, when Johnson and Johnson is approved, based on our current plans, we're gonna have a lot more independent pharmacies out there that are ready, willing and able to step up to the plate and to help their communities. I personally appreciate their patients. I know their ability. I know that they're pillars of their community. Can't wait to see what they're able to do when we're able to turn on a new program. So now we have new maps to show you how much we continue to grow our vaccine efforts. So let's start with the first one. Is this when I asked about Kenneth, Um, here is where we were, uh, many weeks ago. Keep gone and we grew, keep going and we grew and we grew. And we continue to grow. This is a month, a month and a half. This is how we're building out. Our goal, especially when we hit very significant supply, is to make sure it's in your neighborhood. Alison there is, especially as we move into one. See, it's gonna be tough to get an appointment because everybody wants it, and that's a really good thing. That means we have the enthusiasm to get the herd immunity and defeat this thing for good. That is a good thing. I know it's hard if you can't get an appointment to think my inability to get an appointment, it's a good thing it's it's not for you, but it is for us and ultimately for you to get to that point where you could take your mask off and get back to an old normal. It's a good thing, too. So let's remember the collective that we is, what it takes to defeat this virus, and with all these sites we are on our way. Now I'm sure that I have missed something because I ran down here right as lieutenant governor was about to start. I did. Which is long term care. Um, I ran down here. So Lieutenant Governor is about to end. Um, 90 residents, 11 new staff testing positive all around the country cases air plummeting in long term care and with the damage they've sustained. This is incredible news. We do have 15 new deaths that are attributable to long term care. They've been reported and previous days or weeks. We do have two new facilities that have a positive case. Long term care or proof are proof that these vaccinations work and that they protect people. All right with that, let's turn it over to questions. We got a list here. Let's start with Tom. Late Tech from Kentucky today. All right. Good afternoon, governor. Thanks for letting me lead off today. I've got to for you here. First of all, when will the restrictions on church capacities be lifted above 50% and have also gotten wind that Ohioans are making plans to come to the Covington Kroger site to get their vaccination kind of jump in the line there? Not to mention the state line. Are there any safeguards in place to prevent that from happening. Yes. Thank you, Tom. Today we did learn that a number of Ohioans about 1000 had scheduled a T least through Saturday at our Covington facility. We have fixed their ability to sign up based on zip code, but for the people that showed up and showed up for vaccine, we did go ahead and vaccinate them because listen, I mean, they're they're people, too, and they can spread it across their river. Now, I am personally going to ask the federal government for every individual we vaccinated from Ohio to get it least that amount of allocation from Ohio who otherwise is getting that allocation. And this is one of those. It's one of those things that test us is people, right? Were we get an allocation for Kentucky and you have somebody in need that shows up that might not be one of your citizens. And while we don't want it to happen, turning them away is is a different question. And I hope when we dig down to our our values and our faith that way hope that we could give that person protection we can stop the issue from happening in the future, and and then we can get those extra vaccines coming back to us because it's our job to to vaccinate our own citizens on on restrictions on on church capacity. Obviously, those haven't been mandatory in a while. I've been talking to a lot of church leaders because we're headed in the right direction, especially those leaders that have only had virtual services. We continue to see the direction we're on as vaccinations increase. I think there is a lot of new opportunity now e mean church. It raises ah, lot of questions. I mean, if if you're gonna have a capacity, do you can you have, ah first come first serve? How do you How do you do that? That's I know That's tough on our ministers and our pastors and our rabbis and and and others, and I know that they are working through that. Certainly there are some things that spread the virus more than others singing, um, and then and then the the ability to wear masks. But we're certainly entering a phase where I believe we're gonna be able to provide, uh, mawr opportunity, whether it's for in person worship or other things than we have in the recent past. Mike Valenti from W L A X Oh, let me pause on my governor. Hey. Hey, Mike. We I skipped over. Are you? I update. If you're good with it, let's do that. And then I'll come to your question. Does that work? Yep. That's fine. Okay. Okay. Let's go toe Amy for are you? I update and then we'll come back to Mike. Thank you, Governor. I'm here today. Hopefully with some good news and some information for you. Uh, first, some information about our numbers. We've been looking mawr and working mawr on the are older claims I can let you know that of the 695,000 claims from unique claimants that we had from the beginning of the pandemic through the end of December, 86% of those have been deemed payable, which is far outstrips are payable rate. Prior to the pandemic, which was just 70 to 75% Onley, 8% have been denied. We have about 6% of those without fraud issues, left toe work and almost 50% of those air from the fourth quarter. So the Office of Unemployment has made fabulous progress on the unemployment claims, which rival those just for the filings from 2020 of those across the great recession. So they have been working so hard to make sure that you get the benefits that you are entitled to. And I would also like to let you know, too, that we believe that we are back to our on time payment rate. Um, that is comparable to that. That was pre pandemic. So again, kudos to the office of Unemployment. Forgetting that number back up where I know they wanted it to be next. A little more information. I know there was a lot of press coverage from the cyber attack that the Office of Unemployment had yesterday. Um, the filing system was hit with a directed cyber attack yesterday morning. The good news is, is that our Commonwealth Office of Technology and our Office of Unemployment recognized the issue and they were able to prevent any intrusion into the system. They're monitoring closely for any additional attempts, but they did stellar work in protecting. Are you? I system from a breach and no, you I users data was stolen. We're very excited about the fact that even though these attacks were goingto happen, particularly with the federal programs that have so many dollars available, our office was able to fend off that attack and keep the system Onley down for about an hour. It was back up yesterday at 3 25 and then the back end of the system where people work on the claims was never down are affected. So we were still able to help work claim it claims while the filing front end part was down. I'm just so claim, it's understand. In order to stop that attack, we had to deploy a capture system. You may recognize those where you have to click that you're not a robot, you're not a computer. Um, it's a common thing to stop spam and stop these kinds of attacks. Um, it should not be difficult. We have not heard any issues of claimants having trouble accessing the system. As a result, it gives us just one more additional layer of security, but it should not make it any more difficult for you to log into the system. This will be my last update on the Bank of America debit cards. You've got to spend that off. By Sunday, the 28th or Bank of America will return. Those funds to us will reissue those as a paper check. But I understand that that means there will be delays in getting that money. So do try to spend that money off by Sunday. Yes. Um, one quick, not quick. One bit of information about fraud. I know we've talked a lot about fraud. Our numbers for January is we've worked. Some claims are fraudulent filings or down to about 70% of those that are still unresolved. But we have now put up the form on our website that you can report any fraudulent filing any letters you receive or if you're an employer and you have a get a notice of a claim that's been filed for an employee who's still working or never worked for you. Um, if there's a screenshot up there now, about halfway down the page, you can see there is a big orange button that says unemployment insurance fraud. If you click on that, there will be a form you can fill out. You don't have to email now. If you have email you don't have to fill this out again. We're still working things in the order that we received them and we will get to them. Um, if you fill out and then if you miss it here, if you scroll all the way down to the bottom and that's our next slide that we have, there is kind of a menu across the bottom and you can see there is a place to report you. I fraud as well. Either link takes you to the same page. Eso If you fill that out, someone will reach out for more information if they need it. And we will take care of that. But please know that this information is bought on the Internet from data breaches on day air filing these in multiple states. We are getting a lot of filings from out of state, and we're getting reports from Kentucky ins that they're getting letters from other states. So we have recommendations on the k. C c dot K y dot gov website that you can follow if you think your identity has been stolen. The Attorney General's website has very good information as well. Um, please know that we have been working with local law enforcement partners to try to prosecute. Those who are committing this fraud and we have been able to identify are starting to work on identifying some of those. And we think that there will be several prosecutions in the coming months against those who are committing the fraud. One last very short issue. Um, U s Department of Labor issued new guidance just this afternoon regarding the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program. You may start seeing some media coverage of that and have some questions. Please know that we are digging through that guidance and we will have an update for you next week on any changes that we need to make in response to that. And that's it. All right. Thank you, Amy. And now we'll go back to Mike Valenti, who's been very patient from W L a X. Yeah. Thank you, Governor. Good evening. Have you and Dr Stack and other advisers had any internal discussions about the possibility of issuing guidance? People who have been vaccinated fully inoculated, done both doses And at what point do you think people can? I guess start toe, release their foot off the gas. Eso We're awaiting the C D. C, which says they're gonna come out with that guidance here soon. Uh, we wanna be able to review that. Certainly, individuals who have been fully vaccinated around individuals who've been fully vaccinated are safer than than a mixture Of the two are people who have not been. But we still don't know yet that we're seeing Mawr and Mawr information on whether you can transmit it to each other so well. There's a lot of uncertainty there. I feel like it is going to get resolved here in the near future. We've certainly been ableto let our foot off the gas with in terms of visitation at assisted living and other senior living that is not governed, um, or regulated by by the federal government. We're looking at other opportunities toe to do that in terms of capacity across the economy and the current restrictions or limitations that are that are still in place. So I think we're all kind of waiting with bated breath to see what the CDC says. And certainly this gets easier as mawr of the population is vaccinated, which which I think is happening at a rapid rate. Karen Boyer from W E K U. Hi, Governor. Um, what percentage of the long term care facility population needs to be vaccinated before we start to see fewer deaths occur? And then our long term staff getting the vaccine more regularly now, or is there still some hesitancy around getting vaccinated? So Monday, we're gonna put out a full report because we believe our long term care program, at least the initial part is ending. Um, certainly everyone who wanted ah vaccine in both long term care and or who work in it have now been able to get both doses. We're already seeing a precipitous drop in deaths and long term care, and and the share of deaths long term care versus non long term care is changing dramatically. It is really strong proof that the vaccines work. It is good for our seniors in long term care. It's good for our long term outlook on on on ending. This tragic loss of life does tell us that we need to continue to be careful on that. A lot of people have passed away outside of of long term care. We get those numbers back, we will only know who opted in in the specific program for long term care. We won't know how many of the workers said no in the specific program and then went to AH regional site to get vaccinated. I think what we're gonna see is a high percentage of residents and a middle or or maybe even a slightly disappointing, um, percentage of long term care workers, though again, I think that's just the initial offering of it. Um, I think that that ought to reinforce that we've got to continue to message the right way. And and let's also remember that they were the very first people offered a new vaccine. Even right now, it's a lot different than when it was offered from them. And so we're gonna need to give um, them a little grace and when and how they were offered it when they hadn't seen anybody else take it and then remember there in one A. So they could go anywhere right now and get that vaccine and we want them to, even if they said no. Originally Alexa Key stove from the Lexington Herald Leader. Hi, Governor. You've announced previously that Kentucky's regional vaccine sites will begin collectively opening to one C. Starting march 1st. You have smaller sites, like public health departments, too. Focus more on giving doses to stragglers in one A and one B. Can you talk a little bit about how you're directing them to do that and whether you're telling them to begin the transition to one C at a particular time? For example, can health departments border doses for one C now and at the regional sites? Are you planning to boost staffing and hours once you do open toe one C since, as you mentioned, it's least 1.3 million more people. Thanks. So staffing is is entirely dependent on the number of doses we get. Um, you know, so regardless of the population that can get through the doors to be vaccinated, it's really it's really the supply that dictates the number of people that we need. Uh, I wish we had more supply, and right now, this week, Alex, we're going to see how much our current staffing conduced, because remember, we have 152,000 doses because of of last week, and we're really going to get in many ways an important test where we learn how much a given number of people can can do. Can we pick up the pace or or what does it take? All right, So our local health departments, especially in some of our smaller places I mean, they they have so much purpose and they do this for a living, and they've got really good judgment when it comes to their community. So for them, what we can really give is priority. And they live out the priority, you know, better than any regional center ever could with volume and in different ways to sign up. So what we're telling them is you can begin once, see, and the numbers they get are based on on population in the program. And they won't. They won't change based on how they're giving them out. But if we know anything about our local health departments, if if we set a goal and and we let them know they're they're critical role in this, which is to make sure especially those 70 up and then 60 to 70 get a priority, we know they will go out and do it. They've been doing it every time. They've They've been incredible in our in our equity efforts and continue toe to say yes. So they're gonna be able to do one c. And in some communities, that's probably what they will focus on in others where we have a larger senior population. I know they'll be more targeted. They've been incredible, incredible during this crisis, and we know that they will continue. And that gives us faith as we move toe one, see that those that haven't been served in one B You're not being left out. There's still a group out there that is going to live and breathe every day in their professional job to make sure you get your vaccine. John Boyle from wf pl Hi, Governor. I don't think I've taken advantage of these to double up on questions over the past couple months. So I'm gonna take the opportunity to do that this time So we'll start with the daddy that I have a question. Um, so we've seen a pretty stark increase in deaths over the past couple of days, whereas over the past couple weeks, you know, they're pretty low. A lot of times even under 20. Um, So I wanted to hear what number one. What are the dates of these deaths that are being counted right now, if we are able to get those And what do you attribute? The recent uptick Thio. And as far as the second question goes, switching gears a little bit, um, wanted to hear a little bit about hair stylists and barbers and, um, just thoughts on your administration, not considering them essential or or including them in one C uh, first hair stylists and barbers, let me tell you, have done an incredible job in this pandemic. They have shown that if you follow the guidelines, well, you can prevent the spread even, um, if you have the virus. They were one of the first groups who were back in our reopening and and have been operating in in a in a safe way. So I hope nobody thinks that this administration doesn't recognize, um, the great job that they have been doing the safe way. They've been providing services. Not being in one C is wholly dependent on the C. D. C and how they put together, um, they're less. But to those groups, keep doing what you're doing. You're doing a great job and, you know, given that other people are in there, you know, vaccines alone don't make your your your business safe. What you're doing right now in the practices that you're using make your business is safe. So thank you. Right now, a so long as you walk in. And it's, like, everywhere else that we see, it's one of the safer places that there are lots of people toe to be, uh, eso on the data we can get you, um, the actual dates of death from today, the vast majority are February. A decent amount are January and there are probably eight, uh, eight or less what I would call historic deaths where we had to get more paperwork or there had to be a stronger determination of whether or not cove it waas a significant factor in the death. So if you remember early on, all the criticism out there was people were dying from something other than cove it. So we said a very we put a very strict policy in place to where if somebody was counted in this list, if we were going to say it was the toll of covert that we had done our homework. So I mean on today's that I read, Um, it's It's February, January, January, January, February, February, December, February Here's one of the historic September. January, December, February, February, February, February, February, February, February. Okay, so we'll get you all all the other dates. Andi. And that way you all can do your analysis and thank you for not doubling up until now. Chad Hedrick from W K Y t. Hey there, Governor question in regards to as we have mawr vaccine sites coming online, how is it determined of how many vaccines go to each of these sites as we get mawr coming into the state? It is a good question, and it's not perfect, but it's primarily based on population. Oftentimes we look at the area development district because it's a lot easier to look at region for population. But as we get more vaccine, we're gonna be able thio toe look in smaller and smaller areas. Um, it is driven by by population. At the moment. That is our prime mover. Um, it's also driven. It's important on what the what? The limitations are on the size that we can ship. So Madonna, that's 100. It's a little under 1000 on Pfizer. So areas that that population wise maybe a little bit smaller, where you wouldn't have AH 1000 vaccines it's 900 something. We'll be getting Madonna. Some of the bigger areas may be getting more Pfizer because in an allocation by population, that makes sense. Debbie Yetter from The Courier Journal of the Governor With the regional sites opening Teoh one C on Monday, I guess with priority given to 60 and older, do you expect to be able to accommodate the 70 and older who have yet to get vaccinated? I understand. And there seemed to be a number of those folks still trying to get appointments. Uh, we dio again. It doesn't mean that that individuals won't be frustrated and had to sign up and when to sign up. That's just everybody wanting this lifesaving vaccine. It's two things. Number one, at least in our Kroger regional sites. Uh, they have worked their computer system to provide preference, especially to those over 70. As we move towards one, see the other pieces local health departments, especially in smaller communities, working directly with waiting lists with people that they know, and then sometimes in senior living settings, were talking a lot about Johnson and Johnson right now. And what it's gonna allow us to get Tau Tau homebound seniors and others and only have to go once to give them a highly effective vaccine. Let me make sure I make this clear to everyone. When Johnson and Johnson's approved, we will have three incredible lifesaving vaccines. All of them come close to eliminating severe illness and death, and that's where we wanna bay. So if you get offered the Johnson and Johnson of the Modern or the Pfizer vaccine, take it, take it, take it, take it. They're all incredible. They're all better than anything we ever hoped for or was projected to us. Eso So you're gonna you're gonna see a number of of efforts. Azzawi moved to one. See, a lot of what we have in one B are harder to reach populations, and thus its's targeted programs. We think big and we think small Geoff Mulvihill from the Associated Press. Thank you, Governor. I have Ah, you. I question with the frog problems the Kentucky and other states have seen so far under Apoula. I want to know what the state's doing to avoid similar issues with the expected next round of extended and heightened benefits. Uh, let's go toe Amy cabbage, and we have seen your right a huge, uh, a significantly escalated amount of fraud based on, you know, the December announcement and and from there, And if that trend continues, it could be even more problematic. And for Kentucky, it's and everyone else. Every every every fraudulent filing that's not immediately flagged and expelled makes it harder to get to the legitimate one. Because if you gotta work your way through, let's let's let's pick random numbers. And let's make sure that people know they're not accurate numbers. If if you gotta work through, ah 100 claims and 90 of them are fraudulent and 10 of them are riel, when do you get to the 10 that are really it makes it harder toe help people, but let's go over to Amy. We're actually doing several things right now that we expect to ramp up, as you know, if the P way extension comes through, which is expected to be through the end of August 1 thing that we have already done and then other states are starting to roll out. I know Kansas recently rolled this out Is we have our i D verification product that was in place pre pandemic that is catching about 99% of the payments. It the letters are going out to claimants telling them that there has been a claim filed, but it is stopping any claims being paid. So while it's a burden on the system, it is also stopping the billions of dollars of payments of fraudulent payments from going out that other states have seen. So that's one good thing that we have. We are all getting ready to roll out a back end. Second, I d verification Thio catch anything that gets through that first level of I D verification and in light of the significant number of out of state fraudulent claims that we're seeing, we are taking and catching and giving a hard look at all claims filed from out of state and we are doing searches to catch other fraudulent indicators. I don't want to announce what those indicators are so that people committing the fraud don't then try to figure out a way around them. But we are taking all the patterns that we're seeing in the fraudulent filings and trying to run searches and flag those in our systems so that we can segregate those to the side and work on the legitimate claims. But it is something that we're cognizant enough we are concerned about, and we believe that we will see continue if the P. U A program is re upped by Congress. All right, everybody, um, we'll be live again at 4 p.m. Back again at four on Monday. But I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that we are just about 10 days away from the one year anniversary of our first case here in Kentucky. I keep thinking just about every day, Um, about March 6th last year. It was this beautiful day, Um, one of the nicest days we've we've we've had in a while. And it was a Friday, and I left a little bit early from the office. I wanted to go home and see the kids. It's in a great mood, even though that we knew that the coronavirus was out there. We were hopeful about what it might or might not do at the time. I had two dogs that were waiting for May, um, Thio to get home. Our lives are dramatically different then march 6th of last year were all sustained loss. We're all feeling loss, and there is a collective grief in this commonwealth that is greater than I could have imagined in my lifetime and and greater than I knew that I would have toe try to lead us through his governor. I hope I've met your expectations in doing that. None of us could have known what this journey it was, and none of us had the answers in the beginning and not all the answers. Now, as we approach a year, there's a lot of hope in front of us. There's a chance to move beyond this. But to do that, I need your your collective spirit, your resiliency and your compassion in in a way that we saw early on in this pandemic his last months, and we know it's now just months at least. Ah, pray of this pandemic are critical to protect those around us, so let's continue to do the right thing. So I've been vaccinated yet. I'm still wearing my mask, my masks plural every day. And that's because I wanna make sure that those around me that haven't yet been able to get in are protected. As as well. We talked about this being a test of our humanity. Tested over Onda tell it's over, so let's make sure we continue to do the right things. E wanna thank everybody. This last year's been tough on us all, and some people will sometimes say, You know, it's been it's been tough on you or or offer their support. It's been it's been tough on all of us, all of us. Give yourself space, Give yourself room, give yourself grace and an empathy and then give the same toe to those around you. Our collective healing will hopefully begin here here soon. We're all excited to get out of this, but it's gonna be a process moving forward. Our desks. Best days. They're coming, our common. It's gonna be incumbent on us to make sure that they're the very best days they can be. And let's make them incredible. Let's make sure that we don't forget who's not there with us, so we'll be working on plans for March 6th to make it fitting the year that we've been through. Maybe every March 6th moving forward, we'll remember what we've been through and what it took collectively to defeat it. Let's keep working towards that goal. We're gonna get through this. We're gonna get through it together. We're gonna come out on the other side. Thank you, Kentucky. God bless. We'll see you again on Monday.

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