LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A record number of COVID-19 cases in Lexington has local health stakeholders urging more people to get vaccinated.
Lexington officially saw 40,428 cases of COVID-19 and 331 people have died since the beginning of the pandemic. The city's seven-day rolling average for cases is now up to 185.
Those troubling numbers led Mayor Linda Gorton, Fayette County Health Department, Wild Health, Baptist Health, and other local leaders to hold a press conference asking the community for help.
"The fight continues for all of us," said Gorton as she encouraged people to be vigilant in taking safety precautions.
Lexington finally reached its goal of having 70% of the adult population fully vaccinated. While they did celebrate the milestone, Gorton says the focus is now on 75%.
Since the start of the pandemic, many people looked at the 70% percent vaccinated number as the finish line. Dr. Daniel Rodrigue says the idea of traditional herd immunity has changed as they continue to learn more about the virus.
The threshold will continue to grow until infections almost disappear.
"We focus on the number 70%, but in Kentucky that is a variable number. In Lexington, we're doing okay. But in some of those other smaller communities within Kentucky, not so much. And in fact, what you see is, in some of those smaller communities, maybe 30% are vaccinated. And those communities are getting hit hard. And those patients are ending up in the hospital, and then they're ending up in Lexington if we have the beds and the staff," said Rodrigue.
Three additional testing sites were facilitated by Wild Health for FCPS students and staff.
South
Where: Immanuel Baptist Church, 2261 Armstrong Mill Rd, Lexington, KY 40515
Starting: 8/28
Days of operation: Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Central
Where: Fayette Co Public Schools, 100 Midland Ave, Lexington, KY 40508
Starting: 8/26
Days of operation: 7 days per week
North
Where: Lexington Legends Ballpark, 207 Legends Ln, Lexington, KY 40505
Starting: 8/31
Days of operation: Tuesday, Wednesday
