WASHINGTON, D.C. — Monday afternoon, the White House announced the end of many of the vaccine requirements put in place two years ago.

On May 11, the same day the COVID public health emergency comes to an end, the federal government will no longer require the COVID vaccine for federal employees and contractors, international travelers, Head Start teachers and health care facilities certified by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

“Since January 2021, COVID-19 deaths have declined by 95 percent, and hospitalizations are down nearly 91 percent,” a statement from the White House said. “Globally, COVID-19 deaths are at their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic. Following a whole-of-government effort that led to a record number of nearly 270 million Americans receiving at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, we are in a different phase of our response to COVID-19 than we were when many of these requirements were put into place.”

The statement said additional details about the end of the vaccine requirements will be announced soon.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — University of Kentucky College of Public Health researchers, in collaboration with investigators from the UK College of Medicine, the UK College of Communication and Information and the Kentucky Department for Public Health, are leading a five-year, $3.7 million project to study COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in Eastern Kentucky. 

The project, called the Kentuckians Vaccinating Appalachian Communities (K-VAC), addresses the lower vaccination rates in Eastern Kentucky compared to other parts of the Commonwealth and the U.S. through a personalized, community-engaged approach.

Rural Appalachian Kentucky communities are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, and while more than half of U.S. residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, many Kentucky counties report much lower uptake. 

Marc T. Kiviniemi, Ph.D., and Kathryn M. Cardarelli, Ph.D., are co-principal investigators and researchers in the Health, Behavior & Society department at CPH. They are spearheading the multilevel approach that addresses the individual, relational and structural variables potentially contributing to vaccine hesitancy in this region of Kentucky. 

“We are studying ways of simultaneously addressing the willingness to be vaccinated and vaccine accessibility, and then seeing if addressing those problems increases the portion of the populace that has received a vaccine, what we call ‘vaccine uptake,'” said Cardarelli.

K-VAC’s co-investigators include Public Health’s Angie Carman, D.P.H., Anna Hoover, Ph.D., and Emily Slade, Ph.D.; College of Medicine’s Kevin Pearce, M.D., and Jamie Sturgill, Ph.D.; Center of Excellence in Rural Health Director Fran Feltner, D.N.P.; College of Communication and Information’s Diane Francis, Ph.D.; and and Emily Messerli, D.N.P., from the Kentucky Department for Public Health’s Immunization Branch. 

“Structurally, this region is rural, with many communities geographically isolated and with challenges with access to health care,” said Kiviniemi. “In addition to low socioeconomic status, and elevated levels of chronic disease, this population is placed at significant risk of complications and mortality due to COVID-19 infection. K-VAC’s vaccination interventions must use individually tailored, strong community partnerships and strategies to build trust with this community.”

“We understand that there are different attitudes and feelings about vaccinations. This collaborative, community-based research aims to build better, trustworthy communications to help populations make more informed, actionable decisions while addressing the structural barriers such as physical location, transit time, community features, access to health care, among others,” said Cardarelli.

To ensure that the project’s approach is responsive to the communities’ cultural, social, historical and economic contexts, K-VAC will be guided by a Community Advisory Board that includes members of the Kentucky River Health Consortium. KRHC members represent more than 50 organizations within K-VAC’s target population, including human services organizations, health coalitions, law enforcement agencies and managed care organizations.

“Vaccination is a critical strategy for reducing the COVID-19 overall burden and health disparities, yet vaccine intentions and uptake are unacceptably low in our partner communities in Appalachian Kentucky,” said Cardarelli. “Nationally, individuals with lower education, lower household income and those living in rural areas are more likely to express COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. I am excited to be a part of this project, in collaboration with our project and community partners, to improve the lives of this population.”

The K-VAC project will make active use of facilities in the UK Center of Excellence in Rural Health. CERH collaborates with rural communities and other stakeholders to develop more effective approaches to rural health service delivery, engages in rural health policy research and provides medical services to residents of Appalachian Kentucky. 

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a statement released Thursday morning by the White House Press Office.

The following is the text of that statement:

“This morning, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19.  He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms.  He has begun taking Paxlovid. Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time.  He has been in contact with members of the White House staff by phone this morning, and will participate in his planned meetings at the White House this morning via phone and Zoom from the residence. 

“Consistent with White House protocol for positive COVID cases, which goes above and beyond CDC guidance, he will continue to work in isolation until he tests negative.  Once he tests negative, he will return to in-person work.

“Out of an abundance of transparency, the White House will provide a daily update on the President’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation.

“Per standard protocol for any positive case at the White House, the White House Medical Unit will inform all close contacts of the President during the day today, including any Members of Congress and any members of the press who interacted with the President during yesterday’s travel.  The President’s last previous test for COVID was Tuesday, when he had a negative test result.”

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — More than $162 million is being paid to cities across Kentucky, as part of the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The money will be used to cover the cost of buying personal protective equipment, holding vaccination clinics, loss of revenue, payroll and other expenses.

In Pike County, Pikeville will receive $875,334.52, Coal Run Village will receive $203,100.06, and Elkhorn City will receive $118,920.43.

In Floyd County, Prestonsburg will receive $471,940.39, Martin will receive $74,024.63, Wheelwright will receive $67,210.08, Wayland will receive $41,034.90, and Allen will receive $22,982.37.

Other cities in the region receiving money include

• Paintsville, $533,137.65
• Jenkins, $257,750.01
• Whitesburg, $246,258.82
• Salyersville, $221,405.79
• Hindman, $90,593.31
• Fleming-Neon, $90,459.70
• Inez, $49,894.13

The money comes from the American Rescue Plan. This is the second payment to cities. The first payment was distributed last year.

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PIKEVILLE, Ky. — The University of Pikeville announced Monday that face masks will be optional for most of campus.

In a post on the college’s “Healthy at UPike” webpage, the school noted that the change comes as a result of declining numbers of cases on campus and in the community. Masks will be optional in “residence halls, offices, athletic venues, campus dining locations and event spaces.”

The change is effective immediately. However, there will be some exceptions where masks are still required.

“Masks are required in classroom settings; however, faculty may, at their sole discretion, lift the mask mandate in their classroom at any time,” the post reads. “In healthcare settings like the Kentucky College of Optometry Dr. Jerald F. Combs Eye Clinic and the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine OMT Clinic, masks will still be required.”

The university also noted that it recognizes that some people may be uncomfortable with the change, and encouraged anyone who wishes to wear a mask to continue to do so.

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PIKEVILLE, Ky. — Both of Pike County’s public school systems are ending their mask mandates.

Both Pikeville Independent and Pike County Schools have announced their intention to allow the use of face masks to be optional.

Pike County Schools will end its mandate next Wednesday, Feb. 23.

Pikeville Independent will follow suit on Monday, Feb. 28.

Any student or staff member returning to school 6-to-10 days following a positive test of COVID must wear a mask through day 10. Pikeville Independent extends that requirement to students and staff members who returns from a household exposure to the virus. Students and staff members must be asymptomatic to return to school.

And as required by federal mandate, all passengers must wear masks while on school buses.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is calling on federal, state and local leaders to end the state of emergency related to the coronavirus.

Speaking from the Senate floor on Wednesday, McConnell said that, between the protection offered by vaccines and the less lethal symptoms of now-dominant omicron variant, the need for emergency action no longer exists.

“After two years on this hellish highway, it appears our country is finally arriving at the off-ramp,” McConnell said. “The virus appears to be heading endemic. Seventy percent of Americans agree with the statement, ‘It’s time we accept that COVID is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives.’ It is time for the state of emergency to wind down.”

The senate minority leader also says the risks the virus poses now are far different than they were two years ago.

“In communities across the country, bureaucrats are still forcing young children to wear masks to participate in society, when neither kids nor vaccinated adults are remotely likely to get gravely ill,” McConnell said.

“What exactly are we doing here? Where are the goalposts? What is their end game? Consider if this variant were its own separate virus that we were just meeting for the first time, without the scar tissue from the prior two years. Nobody would accept anywhere near this much disruption to fight the virus that we are actually facing now.”

McConnell also says that if additional money is needed to continue fighting the virus, Congress should first repurpose the more than $800 million sent to states, cities, counties and schools that remains unused.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Governor Jim Justice has tested positive for COVID-19.

The 70-year-old governor said in a statement that he woke up Tuesday with coughing and congestion, then developed a headache and high fever. He tested positive later in the day.

Justice had been scheduled to deliver the State of the State Address tonight. That speech will now be submitted to lawmakers in written form and the governor will address them later.

Justice is scheduled to receive monoclonal antibody treatment to combat the virus.

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia is seeing record numbers of coronavirus cases.

According to figures released Monday, nearly 17,000 cases were reported in the Mountain State from Jan. 3 to Jan. 10.
That’s 50 percent higher than the previous record, which was set only one week ago.

Gov. Jim Justice is urging West Virginia residents to get vaccinated, and he is seeking permission from the federal government to allow a fourth dose of COVID vaccines for essential workers and those age 50 and older.

Only half of West Virginia’s population is currently vaccinated.

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FRANKFORT, Ky. — As Kentucky faces its largest surge of the coronavirus yet, Gov. Andy Beshear is once again activating the National Guard to assist hospitals.

Beginning this week, the Guard will send 445 troops to 30 health care facilities facing staffing shortages.

During a previous deployment back in the summer, the guardsmen and women assisted hospitals with non-medical tasks, to free health care workers to focus on patient care.

Kentucky currently has nearly 1,900 people hospitalized with COVID. The state just reported its highest week of cases ever at more than 52,000. That’s nearly double the previous record.

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