Rural Kentucky health officials press on, one COVID-19 shot at a time

MASS REQUIREMENTS ARE STILL IN PLACE GOVERNOR BESHEAR HAS PROMISED CHANGES ONCE 2.5 MILLION. KENTUCKYANS ARE VACCINATED MASS VACCINATION SITES, LIKE THE PREVIOUS DRIVE-THRU SITE AT BROADBAND ARENA HELPED JEFFERSON COUNTY GET 44% OF PEOPLE VACCINATED BUT IN SPENCER COUNTY, IT’S JUST 17 PERCENT. THERE’S NOT ENOUGH DATA. AND WE JUST DON’T FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING IT. THAT SENTIMENT HAS BEEN LABELED VACCINE HESITANCY WHILE MANY SAY THEY WANT TO WAIT TO GET THE VACCINE OR NEVER PLAN TO GET IT AT ALL FOR OTHERS LIKE THIS TAYLORSVILLE, MAN. IT MAKES THEM NERVOUS MORE PEOPLE AREN’T GETTING THE SHOT. THIS IS A SMALL TOWN IT HIT JUST WHEN THEY MIGHT WIPE US COMPLETELY OUT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT WHICH COVERS FOUR COUNTIES INCLUDING SPENCER HAS SO FAR BEEN ABLE TO VACCINATE MORE THAN 12,000 PEOPLE NOW EARLY ON AT THEIR CLINICS. THEY WERE SEEING 900 PEOPLE A DAY RIGHT NOW. THEY TELL ME THEY’RE HARD PRESSED TO EVEN GET 20 SIGNED UP AND THAT THEY SAY IS FOR LADY OF REASONS PEOPLE ARE MISINFORMED ROWANIA WRITES THE DIRECTOR OF THE NORTH CENTRAL DISTRICT HEALTH DEPARTMENT SAYS AVAILABILITY OF THE VACCINE ISN’T THE PROBLEM. IT’S MISINFORMATION. FOR OTHERS. IT’S A PERSONAL CHOICE AND FOR SOME A MATTER OF CONVENIENCE, ESPECIALLY IN RURAL COUNTIES. IT’S WHY NORTH CENTRAL IS HITTING THE ROAD FOCUSING ON CLINICS IN SPENCER COUNTY. HOPING TO GET MORE PEOPLE TO ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES FOR SPENCER IN PARTICULAR. IT’S DISAPPOINTING BECAUSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL’S PERSONAL HEALTH IS AT RISK THE HEALTH OF THE COMMUNITY THAT COMMUNITY AT LARGE AND THEN HOW IT IMPACTS THE STATE AS A WHOLE. WE ALL WANT TO GET BACK TO NORMAL AND WE WANT TO REACH THAT HERD IMMUNITY SO WE CAN DO THAT.

John Rogers waited months after becoming eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. It was only after talking with friends that the 66-year-old retiree from rural Spencer County, Kentucky, was persuaded to get the shot."They said, 'You know, the vaccine may not be 100%, but if you get COVID, you’re in bad shape,'" Rogers said. "You can die from it."With the nation falling just short of President Joe Biden’s goal of dispensing at least one shot to 70% of all American adults by the Fourth of July, public health officials in places like Spencer County have shifted the emphasis away from mass vaccination clinics toward getting more information out in a more targeted way about the benefits of getting inoculated.Health departments have offered the vaccine at concerts, parades and fairs and plan to make it available at back-to-school events. They have encouraged local doctors to raise the issue with patients and promoted shots by way of printed materials and social media."I think that the philosophy that we have really tried to go by is that every single shot that we can get administered to a person is a positive thing," Lokits said. "I think that’s kind of the place where a lot of health departments and a lot of providers are at."Lauren Slone, a nurse practitioner leading the vaccine effort at a community health center in Taylorsville, said she has learned through conversations with her patients that misconceptions about long-term effects pose real problems.She has found that most people she talks to eventually get vaccinated. The challenge, she said, is "getting people to talk to me about it in the first place."While appointments in the center aren’t filling up as quickly as she would like, Slone thinks an effort to distribute information at local middle and high schools led to more vaccine appointments."I thought, you know, one way to get adults in is when teenagers know about it," Slone said. "If your teenager asks to get it, then maybe that encourages you a little bit as well."A June drive-thru clinic held after the information push was well-attended by young adults. That’s another good sign, Slone said. Only one-third of Kentuckians 18 to 29 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 83% of residents 65 and up.Still, getting the word out can be harder in a rural county, because some residents aren’t on social media or don’t have consistent access to the internet. And in spread-out, sparsely populated places like Spencer County, some people may not feel the need to get the vaccine as quickly, said district health department director Roanya Rice.Also, Spencer County has lower cases per-capita than neighboring counties and the state as a whole, meaning the threat can seem far away to some.Rogers, now fully vaccinated, is enjoying the freedom to take off his mask for good, eat at a restaurant or visit with relatives without worrying."I waited a long time," he said. "I should have gotten it a long time ago."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —

"They said, 'You know, the vaccine may not be 100%, but if you get COVID, you’re in bad shape,'" Rogers said. "You can die from it."

With the nation falling just short of President Joe Biden’s goal of dispensing at least one shot to 70% of all American adults by the Fourth of July, public health officials in places like Spencer County have shifted the emphasis away from mass vaccination clinics toward getting more information out in a more targeted way about the benefits of getting inoculated.

Health departments have offered the vaccine at concerts, parades and fairs and plan to make it available at back-to-school events. They have encouraged local doctors to raise the issue with patients and promoted shots by way of printed materials and social media.

"I think that the philosophy that we have really tried to go by is that every single shot that we can get administered to a person is a positive thing," Lokits said. "I think that’s kind of the place where a lot of health departments and a lot of providers are at."

Lauren Slone, a nurse practitioner leading the vaccine effort at a community health center in Taylorsville, said she has learned through conversations with her patients that misconceptions about long-term effects pose real problems.

She has found that most people she talks to eventually get vaccinated. The challenge, she said, is "getting people to talk to me about it in the first place."

While appointments in the center aren’t filling up as quickly as she would like, Slone thinks an effort to distribute information at local middle and high schools led to more vaccine appointments.

"I thought, you know, one way to get adults in is when teenagers know about it," Slone said. "If your teenager asks to get it, then maybe that encourages you a little bit as well."

A June drive-thru clinic held after the information push was well-attended by young adults. That’s another good sign, Slone said. Only one-third of Kentuckians 18 to 29 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 83% of residents 65 and up.

Still, getting the word out can be harder in a rural county, because some residents aren’t on social media or don’t have consistent access to the internet. And in spread-out, sparsely populated places like Spencer County, some people may not feel the need to get the vaccine as quickly, said district health department director Roanya Rice.

Also, Spencer County has lower cases per-capita than neighboring counties and the state as a whole, meaning the threat can seem far away to some.

Rogers, now fully vaccinated, is enjoying the freedom to take off his mask for good, eat at a restaurant or visit with relatives without worrying.

"I waited a long time," he said. "I should have gotten it a long time ago."

Rural Kentucky health officials press on, one COVID-19 shot at a time

TRACKING THE COVID-19 VACCINE

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