Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday announced the launch of a new, statewide website and telephone hotline designed to help Kentuckians determine when they are eligible for the vaccine and where they can get it.
The website, vaccine.ky.gov, takes users through a set of questions to determine their eligibility based on the Kentucky vaccine phases. Users can also sign up for email and text alerts to tell them when and where they are able to get the vaccine.
People who aren’t able to access the website can call the state’s vaccine hotline at 855-598-2246 or 855-326-4654 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. CST Monday through Friday.
“Hotline operators are prepared to walk a person without internet through what’s on the website via a phone call,” Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said. “For those who are vaccine eligible, the operator can help them identify a vaccine location and connect them by phone or even help them look for an available appointment. For those not currently eligible, the operator can help the caller sign up for text or email notifications.”
Beshear also announced four new regional COVID-19 vaccine sites — Kentucky Horse Park outside Lexington, at Ephraim McDowell Hospital in Danville and at Western Baptist and Lourdes Mercy hospitals in Paducah.
Hopkinsville already has a regional vaccine site at the James E. Bruce Convention Center. It opened on Jan. 12. (Here’s a map of all the regional sites.)
The state plans to announce additional regional vaccine sites over the next two weeks, the governor said.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
