SALYERSVILLE – Over 40% of Magoffin County’s population is now vaccinated against COVID-19, with masks only required at health facilities and the nursing home.
To date, 1,125 people have tested positive for COVID-19 from Magoffin County, with four new cases in the last seven days. The death rate stands at 22 COVID-19 related deaths in Magoffin, which includes the deaths reported from the Salyersville Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
As of May 20, in total 5,067 people from Magoffin have been vaccinated, with 3,563 receiving the Moderna vaccine, 1,458 Pfizer, and 46 Johnson & Johnson.
The Magoffin County Health Department is still taking appointments of anyone over 18 years of age for COVID-19 Moderna vaccine. People can call the Magoffin County Health Department at 606-349-6212 to schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine.
Walgreens is also taking appointments for the vaccine, with people able to go online at www.walgreens.com to schedule their first and second appointments for the Pfizer vaccine. People will have to fill out a brief questionnaire to determine eligibility and make or sign into their Walgreens account to schedule the appointments.
Also available in this region, people can still call or go online to get on the vaccine list at any of the following providers: multiple Big Sandy Healthcare locations, Paul B. Hall Medical Center, Highlands ARH, Pikeville Medical Center, Kings Daughters in Ashland, ARH West Liberty and Saint Claire Regional Medical Center in Morehead.
As it stands, the CDC has released that the vaccines are effective for at least six months, but studies are still being done to determine the full time of effectiveness. The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for children 12 and up, with studies ongoing regarding the vaccine’s safety in younger children.
As vaccinations continue to slow down throughout the region, Magoffin County Public Health Director and Salyersville Mayor James “Pete” Shepherd urged everyone to get the vaccine before it gets harder to find a vaccination site.
“It’s going to be a lot more difficult as we go along,” Shepherd said. “You may have to travel or go somewhere else and it’s only going to get harder to get it.”
With the sharp decrease in hospitalizations and severity of symptoms, Shepherd said the local numbers are showing that the vaccines work.
Shepherd also explained that having the virus once does not make people immune to catching it, again, with the CDC stating that it will generally protect the person for up to 90 days, though there have been at least two cases in Magoffin County where people have tested positive for the virus, again, less than 90 days after having COVID-19.
