Fayette County’s three-day COVID average remains above 700

Hospitalizations have tripled, more than 80% unvaccinated

January 11, 2022

Steve Rogers,

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – The number of people in Fayette County being hospitalized for COVID-related symptoms has tripled since before Christmas and has been the case for a year, more than 80% of those people are unvaccinated, according to health officials.

In its morning report Tuesday, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department listed 1,477 new cases Saturday through Monday, which raised the county’s total in 22 months to 64,390. The seven-day average actually dipped slightly from 742 to 707, which was second only to the previous day. The average was at 610 Thursday and 395 last Monday.

The county now has lost 487 residents since the pandemic began in March 2020.

Because the department continues to be behind on getting the surge in cases logged and contact tracing done, Lexington residents who have tested positive, excluding at-home tests, are asked to visit www.lfchd.org/COVIDinterview to receive an electronic interview. Those without Internet access should call 859-288-2445.

“We’ve seen an exponential rise in cases since the holidays,” outgoing Health Director Dr. Kraig Humbaugh told the Health Board during its meeting Monday. “We have so many we can’t get to them all in a day. We are getting 750 a day in when we have 850 to 900…it’s staggering at this point.”

Prior to Christmas, the the county was seeing about 40 hospitalizations per day. That’s up to 120 now, he told board members.

The vaccine is helping protect people from serious illness, including hospitalization. In Fayette County, most cases — 56% in December — continue to be among unvaccinated people, and the vast majority — 80% — of hospitalizations of Lexington residents are not vaccinated.

The health department has COVID-19 vaccines, including the pediatric dose for ages 5-11 years, available by same-day appointment every Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the Public Health Clinic at 650 Newtown Pike. Call 859-288-2483 to schedule a COVID-19 vaccine. Fayette schools also have vaccination clinics.

Help slow the spread of COVID-19 by:

• Avoiding close contact with people who are sick, especially those with COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, muscle/body aches, loss of taste/smell, nausea, etc.);

• Covering coughs and sneezes;

• Avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth;

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds;

• Wearing a face covering in crowded public areas.

#LexDoThis #LexingtonKy #PublicHealth

Find vaccine information at www.vaccines.gov/search.

Those who are immunocompromised and received a second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine at least four weeks ago are eligible for a third dose. Call 859-288-2483 to schedule a same-day appointment, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Learn more at http://www.lfchd.org/3rd-dose/

While there’s still a chance a fully vaccinated person can get COVID-19, symptoms will likely be less severe and the need for hospitalization is much smaller. Since February 2021, about 88% of Lexington’s COVID-19-related hospitalizations are in people who are unvaccinated or aren’t fully vaccinated.

The monthly totals of COVID-19 cases during the outbreak are: