LOUISVILLE, Ky. — All Kentuckians age 16 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine starting Monday, April 5.
Governor Andy Beshear made the announcement during his COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday, saying this means a complete opening of all vaccine sites to everyone who qualifies under the decisions by the FDA and CDC.
“This is a good day,” Beshear said. “It means that we will beat the president’s request by a month to have it opened up to everyone.”
This age group was originally expected to be eligible to receive the vaccine on April 12, but governor cited two reasons why Kentucky made the decision to move up the eligibility date. The first, Beshear said, is an increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in younger Americans across the country.
“What we’re seeing is that vaccines work, and older Americans have gotten it. But we’re seeing younger Americans ending up in the hospital. This we believe is because of the more aggressive variants. We want to get ahead of them,” Beshear said.
The governor also mentioned extending vaccine eligibility will make sure vaccine appointments are filled.
Kentuckians 16 and up will be eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine and those 18 and up will be eligible to receive the vaccines from Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.
“Make sure you make your plan to get your shot of hope,” Beshear said.
The announcement came as the largest drive through vaccination clinic in the state opened appointment registration. Starting April 12, UofL Health will host a mass vaccination site at Cardinal Stadium which expected to vaccinate 4,000 people a day during its seven weeks of operation. Kentuckians 16 and older may now register for an appointment at uoflhealth.org or by calling 502-681-1435.
For a list of other vaccination sites across the state, click here.
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