As COVID-19 cases have increased across the county, state and country, local health officials are urging Pike County residents to get vaccinated to protect themselves from the virus.
Pike County’s rate of new COVID-19 cases has recently doubled from previous weeks as the county’s seven-day total number of newly reported cases has increased to about 65 new cases, as of press time July 15.
Pike County Public Health Director Tammy
Riley said that other counties across the state, including several in Eastern Kentucky, have seen their newly reported cases of the virus increase recently as well, which shows how the virus is spreading statewide.
“When you look at the state of Kentucky, what I’m seeing is that there’s increased activity across the state, similarly to what we’re hearing about in certain parts of the country, and that certainly holds true for Pike County,” Riley said. “When you look at the last seven days of our rolling average of cases, we’ve had 65. (That’s) close to doubling previous weeks all the way back to late February, early March. We’re certainly seeing an increase in cases.”
As of July 15, the county’s total number of cases was 5,976, with 108 of those being considered active. Of those total cases, 5,758 patients have recovered while 110 Pike residents have died from the virus so far. There are 17 COVID-19 hospitalizations in Pike County’s two hospitals, with five of those being Pike residents.
This week, Pike County joined many other counties across the state in moving to the “Accelerated” (Orange) level on the statewide Current Incidence Rate Map, which is the second highest level of COVID-19 spread. The map shows the seven-day average of newly reported cases in order to show how widespread the virus is spreading in each county.
As of July 14, 20 other counties were considered to be at the “Accelerated” (Orange) level, or the second highest level, of the state’s Daily Incidence Rate Map, including Barren, Boyd, Carter, Clay, Clark, Graves, Hardin, Hart, Laurel, Leslie, Lewis, Logan, Meade, Mercer, Muhlenberg, Perry, Pulaski, Webster, Whitley and Woodford. The two counties in the Critical (Red) level, or the highest level, were Martin County and Hopkins County, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
Riley said she believes this increase in cases is due to several factors, including the low participation rates for vaccinations in Pike County and people’s increased activities and movement where they are interacting with people on a more frequent basis, as well as variants of the virus that could be potentially spreading within the county.
Riley said that Pike County’s cases are being reported among patients from a variety of ages, from 3 months old and 6 years old to people who are in their 70s, 80s and 90s. Although there is not a trend in the new cases being reported within a certain age demographic, Riley noted, there has been a recent trend of the new cases being mostly reported in people who are unvaccinated.
“What we’re seeing as well, overwhelmingly, is that new cases being reported are almost primarily attributed to the unvaccinated. There are some exceptions, but Public Health has stated from early on in the implementation of the vaccines that those with compromised immune systems, those who are taking immunosuppressant medication, the elderly, all have a potential lower antibody response to the vaccine. But that being said, we continue to see an overwhelming prevalence of new cases being attributed to the unvaccinated.”
As of press time July 15, about 56 percent of Pike County residents had received at least one dose of a vaccine, while 44.5 percent of Pike County residents were fully vaccinated. For a person to be fully vaccinated, it means that they must receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or receive the single dose of the Johnson&Johnson vaccine.
The Pfizer vaccine is 95 percent effective when both doses are administered, and the Moderna vaccine is 94.1 percent effective when both doses are administered. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that both doses are necessary for protection against the virus. The Johnson&Johnson vaccine is a single-dose vaccine and 85 percent effective.
To fight against COVID-19, Riley said that the public has “several tools in its toolbox,” which include frequent hand-washing, maintaining social distancing and wearing masks. However, she reiterated that the public’s safest and most effective way to limit the spread of the virus is to get fully vaccinated.
All Kentuckians who are 12 years old and older can receive the two-dose Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, and all Kentuckians 16 years old and older can receive the two-dose Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the single-dose Johnson&Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. No vaccines have been approved for children between 5 and 12 years old in the U.S. yet.
Riley emphasized that no shortcuts were taken in the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines, and they are the most reliable, effective and safe way to protect against COVID-19. She also urged the public to consider the sources of the information that they find regarding COVID-19 vaccines and to use credible websites and sources when researching the efficacy and safety of the vaccines.
“It is a uniform consensus for public health officials and health experts from the international, national, state and local level that our most powerful tool are the vaccines,” Riley said.
On the CDC’s official COVID-19 webpage, health experts have disproved and debunked many common myths and rumors related to the COVID-19 vaccine. For more information, visit, https://bit.ly/2TbZVPo. For general COVID-19 vaccine questions, call Kentucky’s official COVID-19 Hotline, (800)722-5725.
Vaccine site information
Here is a list of all the COVID-19 vaccine site locations in Pike County where COVID-19 vaccinations are offered. Contact each individual pharmacy to confirm they have available vaccines and for appointment information:
• Appalachian Drug - 9613 Millard Highway, Pikeville. (606)754-5186.
• ARH Tug Valley Regional Medical Center - 260 Hospital Drive, South Williamson. (855)274-2273. arhcovid19.com.
• Care More Pharmacy - 151 Dorton-Jenkins Highway, Dorton. (606)639-2273.
• Citizens Drug - 13380 Phelps 632 Road, Phelps. (606)456-3446.
• Commonwealth Pharmacy - 5425 North Mayo Trail #102, Pikeville. (606)437-0701.
• CVS Pharmacy - 197 Appalachian Plaza, South Williamson. (606)237-6230.
• Economy Drug Company Inc. - 180 Town Mountain Road, Suite 115, Pikeville. (606)437-7333.
• Elkhorn Drug - 105 East Elkhorn Street, Elkhorn City. (606)754-0221.
• Faith Pharmacy - 140 Adams Lane #500, Pikeville. (606)509-6337.
• Family Pharmacy - 412 Central Avenue, South Williamson. (606)237-7430.
• FirstCare Clinic - 115 Lee Avenue, #101, Pikeville. (606)727-5296.
• Food City Pharmacy - 28093 Thompson Plaza, South Williamson. (606)237-1175.
• Food City Pharmacy - 215 Cassidy Blvd., Pikeville. (606)437-9209.
• Food City Pharmacy - 2138 South Mayo Trail, Pikeville. (606)432-2044.
• First Care Urgent Care - 115 Lee Avenue, Pikeville. (606)727-5296.
• Kimper Pharmacy - 9711 State Highway 194 East, Kimper. (606)631-3327.
• Mountain Medicine Pharmacy - 8857 Meta Highway, Pikeville. (606)637-9011.
• Nichols Apothecary - 220 Elkhorn Street, Elkhorn City. (606)754-5076.
• Nova Pharmacy - 1330 South Mayo Trail, Suite 102, Pikeville. (606)432-2274.
• Pike County Health Department - 119 River Drive, Pikeville. (606)509-5500. pikecountyhealth.com. PCHD’s walk-in clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays, or patients can make an appointment. If you or a loved one are homebound, call the health department so they can make arrangements for home service.
• Pikeville Medical Center - 911 Bypass Road, Pikeville. (606)218-3500. pmcvaccine.com. At PMC, anyone 16 years old or older can receive a COVID-19 vaccine, and anyone under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
• Total Pharmacy Care - 533 Hambley Boulevard, Pikeville. (606)433-0555.
• Upper Levisa Clinic Pharmacy - 137 North Levisa Road, Mouthcard. (606)835-4991.
• Valley Discount Pharmacy - 6758 U.S. Highway 23, South #7, Pikeville. (606)639-2415.
• Walgreens - 11349 State Highway 1056, McCarr. (606)427-9007.
• Walgreens - 5571 Collins Highway, Pikeville. (606)639-4588.
• Walgreens - 4209 North Mayo Trail, Pikeville. (606)432-0331.
• Walmart - 254 Cassidy Boulevard, Pikeville. (606)432-6177.
• Walmart - 28402 US-119, South Williamson. (606)237-0477.
These provided pharmacies were included as COVID-19 vaccination sites on Kentucky’s official COVID-19 vaccine site location map. To see all vaccination sites and free transportation options to and from vaccination appointments, visit, vaccine.ky.gov, or call the state’s official COVID-19 hotline, (800)722-5725.
