COVID numbers remain low going into holiday season

Dec. 19—Pulaski's COVID numbers have stayed low enough to keep Pulaski in the Green for more than two and a half months, meaning the county's transmission rates are a far cry lower than they were this time last year.

In December 2021, The Lake Cumberland District Health Department was still giving out daily reports, with Pulaski seeing 20 to 40 new cases each day.

By February, LCDHD had shifted away from doing daily public reports in favor of putting out state reports, and by March, the state ended daily reports and moved to weekly reports.

This week, the state's report shows that Pulaski has had 30 new cases for the last seven days, with our incidence rate (the daily number of new cases per 100,000 of population) is at 6.6 — the ninth lowest in all of Kentucky.

In comparison, Wayne County's rate is 14.1, Laurel County's is 14.8 and McCreary County's is 15.8.

Statewide, there are currently around 15 counties that are still in the Red category, meaning there are still a high number of active COVID cases being reported.

Most of those counties are in the far western part of the state and in the northeastern corner.

Around 26 counties are in the Yellow, or medium, category, while around 65% of the state is in the Green.

According to the state totals, Pulaski has seen 323 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. There have been 21,464 total cases, 636 people total who have been hospitalized and 181 who were admitted to ICU.

With the holidays coming up, U.S health officials are advising people to be aware of the continued risk of spreading COVID.

People are asked to stay away from gatherings if they are sick or exhibit any symptoms of COVID. They are also recommending people follow social distancing guidelines, such as staying six feet apart or wearing masks while indoors and in crowded areas.

Since the introduction of COVID vaccines, around 54% of Kentuckians have taken at lease one dose.

Current guidelines for adults are to receive an initial shot from one of the four companies — Pfizer, Modern, Johnson & Johnson or Novavax — and, if that company requires it, take the second shot of a two-shot series.

It is also recommended that adults receive a booster of the bivalent dose — protection from both the original virus and the Omicron variants — in the same brand as the patient's original vaccination.

That bivalent dose can be taken two months after receiving either the two-shot series or a previous booster.

The Centers for Disease Control states that people may consider delaying a vaccine dose by three moths if they have had COVID.

Pfizer and Moderna shots have been approved for children ages six months to 17 years of age, while Novavax shots have been approved for children ages 12 to 17. Refer to CDC guidelines or ask a medical practitioner for specifics on when those shots can be administered.

But while COVID rates may be declining, reports of the flu are climbing, with Governor Andy Beshear announcing Monday that Kentucky is on track to have the worst flu season in 10 years.

Beshear encouraged citizens to get vaccinated for the flu after new reports showed that the state has had six flu-related pediatric deaths this season.

That number matches the highest number of flu-related deaths in children, recorded in the 2019-2020 season with six deaths total.

None of the children who have died of the flu this year had received a flu vaccination, he said.

"This is a milestone we did not want to cross, and our prayers are with each of these families as they mourn the loss of their loved one," said Gov. Beshear. "We are urging our families to get vaccinated as soon as possible to get protected from contracting the flu and COVID."

Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com