The public health director for Clark County is seeing a changing dynamic when it comes to COVID-19 transmission. Rebecca Kissick said cases have increased over the last few weeks from about 10 a week to around ten a day.
Kissick noted infections had been traced back to cluster events just a few weeks ago. “Now we hear more of our folks tell us they are not aware of an exposure to a positive patient. They haven’t been in any of those clusters that we had previously identified. And so, what that indicates to us is that we are seeing much more widespread community spread,” said Kissick.
Kissick said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the central Kentucky county’s vaccination rate at 48%, a bit below the state average. The Clark County Health Department administrator noted there has been a slow, but steady increase in vaccination requests.
A far eastern Kentucky public health official said coronavirus cases being seen now far exceed what occurred last month or last spring. Pike County Public Health Director Tammy Riley said just over 300 cases have been reported in July. She noted that compares with 114 in June and 146 last April. The county’s vaccination rate falls just below 50%. Riley would like to see vaccinations reach or exceed 70% by the end of the year. The public health administrator said calls for vaccinations have been on the increase.
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