Gage Johnson
Editor-in-Chief
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A plethora of people in the Murray State community have already received a COVID-19 vaccine at the CFSB Center and more are to come in the near future.

Gov. Andy Beshear recently announced that more vaccines will be made available for those in the 1C group at regional vaccination sites.

Along with essential workers, those with certain high-risk conditions, those over the age of 60 and faculty and staff of the University will be able to receive the vaccine.

Within the Murray State community, there will be multiple ways that those in group 1C can be notified about the possibility of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine after signing up online.

“Well first off, they would be notified by the health department,” Hughes said. “But within Murray State’s community they’ll get that from administration as well, so they’ll get it most likely from two directions. In addition to the general public, they’ll have the administration inform them.”

This next step in vaccinations comes in accordance with Beshear’s suggestion to return to some form of in-person learning for schools across the state after all school personnel have had their second vaccination.

“What we foresaw is that the safest way to expand in-person opportunities is to vaccinate all of our school personnel,” Beshear said. “Since then, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others have moved that way and other states have followed our lead.”

Chief Medical Officer Bob Hughes said the plan for the CFSB Center is to give more out on Monday, March 1, after early success as a vaccination site.

Hughes said a little over 1,000 people have received a COVID-19 vaccine and he expects that number to rise as the number of vaccines allocated to all the sites is expected to continually increase.

Groups 1A and 1B are completely vaccinated and Hughes estimates that 50 percent of teachers are also vaccinated in order to return to the classroom. 

“When you look at that, you have to look at the ones who have opted to be vaccinated,” Hughes said. “There’s always a certain subset that have reasons for not being vaccinated, whether they’re anti-vaxxers against vaccines or they’re proverbial waiting to see what happens. There’s a certain percentage, I couldn’t give you an exact percentage, but I’ve heard numbers in different places as high as 30 percent.”

Lt. Gov. Coleman said the Kentucky Department of Education has issued a comprehensive, 136-page manual which will help aid in returning to school buildings.

“Kentucky continues to be a national leader in vaccinating our school staff and getting our kids back in the classroom safely remains a top priority for every Kentuckian – from the Governor to our littlest learners,” Coleman said. “With this guidance, we hope to make the transition back to in-person learning as smooth and safe as possible.”

The current positivity rate is the commonwealth’s lowest since Nov. 4 and with more vaccinations coming, Beshear preached patience as the 1C group anxiously awaits their turn.

“Remember, there’s a lot of people in 1C, so it’s going to feel like it’s really hard to get an appointment in the beginning,” Beshear said. “But our supply is increasing and we will get to you. Hang in there.”

Along with March 1, another scheduled vaccination date for the CFSB Center is set for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 3.