Beshear uses the words of a former Trump official to drive the COVID shots

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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) Kentuckys Democratic governor on Thursday sought a warning from a top Trump administration health official urging people to fight the COVID-19 vaccine to get the shot, as delta diversity is causing an increase of coronavirus cases.

After months of urging people to be vaccinated, Governor Andy Beshear acknowledged that the unvaccinated are unlikely to listen to him. So he recounted the warning from Scott Gottlieb, who served as head of the Food and Drug Administration under former President Donald Trump.

Gottlieb recently said that for most unvaccinated Americans infected with the delta variant, the virus will be the most serious they get in their lives.

Beshear led this point in his weekly news conference.

Every single Kentuckian who is eligible who has not been vaccinated should be encouraged to get out there and be vaccinated, the governor said.

Beshear also noted that COVID-19 vaccines were developed while Trump was in office.

There is no politics in the matter, the governor said.

Trump brought the Republican leaning to Kentucky heavily when he won the presidency in 2016 and again in 2020 when he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Some Republicans are hesitant to encourage vaccination, saying that individual citizens should be free to choose their own options.

Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Has repeatedly asked people to be vaccinated. McConnell on Tuesday urged Americans to ignore the perceived bad advice coming from pundits and others against the COVID-19 vaccine.

Coronavirus cases have risen in three straight weeks in Kentucky, mainly among those not vaccinated, and Beshear predicted in these weeks the number of cases will exceed previous weeks. Kentucky reported 1,054 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, the highest one-day total since March 11. The delta variant is to blame for most new cases.

We clarified about delta diversity, Beshear said. This is the most aggressive form of COVID we have seen. If you have not been vaccinated, this is the deadliest form of COVID we have seen.

Between March 1 and July 21, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated Kentuckians accounted for 95% of all COVID-19 cases, 92% of hospitalizations and 89% of all virus-related deaths, said Beshear.

More than 2.25 million Kentuckians have received the COVID-19 vaccine, which is estimated at 62% of the state’s population 18 years of age and older, Beshear said. More than 86,000 Kentucky children ages 12 to 17 have also been vaccinated, the governor reported Monday.

Meanwhile, 10 of Kentuckys 120 counties were reported to be in the red zone indicating a severe level of community spread. No Kentucky counties have a designation at the beginning of July.

Beshear on Thursday released a new set of recommendations for red-zone counties. Those recommendations include encouraging masking and physical detachment, using outdoor spaces for gatherings, encouraging the medically frail to avoid gatherings with unborn people and taking into account delays in large events. in public.

On Monday, Beshear recommended that Kentuckys vaccine workers in jobs with significant public exposure should consider wearing a mask at work.

The governor recommended that those who were not vaccinated wear a mask indoors when not in their homes. He also encouraged wearing an indoor mask, if not in their home, to Kentuckians at higher risk from COVID-19 because of pre-existing health conditions.

Beshear said Thursday that he would not withdraw from reinstating restrictions if the virus spreads.

If I think we need to take steps to save lives, we will, the governor said.

Beshear added that the world is very different, with vaccines now available that were easily accessible when he first imposed restrictions. As a result, our decision calculus is different, he said. He lifted a statewide mandate and ended capacity restrictions last month.

Kentucky is offering a series of $ 1 million prizes and college scholarships to attract more people to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The enticements have worked to some degree, with the states vaccination rate appearing to remain compared to last month, the governor said.

Beshear hung up another financial incentive to motivate the undefeated to get the shots. They risk losing the higher -paying jobs offered amid the states resurgence, he said.

It’s an opportunity for many people, throughout life, to have higher wages, to have new opportunities, he said. And I hope they don’t miss it because they didn’t get the shot and eventually got sick.

Beshear continued a grassroots campaign trying to enroll vaccinated Kentuckians to discuss the importance of taking shots with their undeveloped friends and relatives.

The people who advocated wanted to hear it not from me and not necessarily even from a community leader … but from someone they knew on a more personal level, the governor said.

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