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Harlan County has continued to record case totals in the 60s and 70s for the past three weeks, twice the amount of cases reported in February and early March, according to Judge-Executive Dan Mosley.

On Monday, seven new cases were recorded, bringing the total in the county to 2,736.

“There are at least 97 active cases currently in Harlan County. There are currently six Harlan Countians hospitalized with COVID-19. Approximately 2,175 have recovered from the virus,” Mosley said. “The death total stands at 84 Harlan Countians lost to COVID-19 at this time. Our mortality rate is 3.07 percent. The state’s mortality rate is 1.45 percent. The nation’s mortality rate is 1.79 percent.”

COVID-19 vaccines are now available for anyone 16 and older at all locations statewide.

Mosley said the Pfizer vaccine is currently the only vaccine that can be administered for those 16 or 17 years old and is not yet available in Harlan County.

“I don’t have information at this time as to when that will be available here. When I find out, I will share that information. The Moderna is being administered presently in Harlan County. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine remains paused by the FDA and CDC presently,” he said.

Below is a list of vaccine locations in our county:

• Harlan ARH: To setup an appointment, call 606-573-4520 or 606-573-8100. Appointments are available this week, there is no longer a waiting list.
• MCHC (Harlan/Cumberland): You can sign up by calling 606-633-6081 or by visiting mchc.ky.com/covid.
• Walgreens (Cumberland): You can sign up online at walgreens.com/findcare/vaccination/covid-19 or call 606-589-2234.
• Harlan County Health Department: Call 606-573-4820.

If you need transportation to a vaccine clinic, call 606-573-5335 to speak with Harlan County CAA.

More than 1.6 million people in Kentucky have received at least one dose of the vaccine. So far, 1,665,196 people have received at least a first dose of the vaccine in Kentucky, an increase of nearly 107,000 doses from last Monday. This includes those allocated for and administered in long-term care facilities.

“The governor announced last Monday additional restrictions will be lifted once 2.5 million Kentuckians are vaccinated,” Mosley said.

In Harlan County, as of Monday, nearly 11,700 doses of the vaccine have been administered by Harlan ARH, the Harlan County Health Department, MCHC, Walgreens, the rural mobile vaccine clinic or the contracted pharmacies assigned to service the long-term care facilities and assisted-living facility.

Of those, 7,017 doses have been first dose, or “prime” doses, and approximately 4,670 doses have been second dose vaccines.

Harlan County has stayed in the red on the state incidence rate map since March 28 and is currently 31.8, roughly 12 points lower than this time last week. As of Monday, there are only 11 out of 120 total counties in Kentucky that are in the red category, Harlan remaining one of them.

Gov. Andy Beshear announced 231 new cases in Kentucky on Monday, bringing the state’s total cases to 437,543. The state’s death total from COVID-19 is now at 6,347. The state’s positivity rate currently sits at 3.46 percent, up slightly from last week.

The United States death toll from COVID-19 is now over 567,500 up more than 4,900 deaths since Tuesday morning of last week.

“If you are sick, please stay home,” Mosley said. “I will continue to provide a weekly update between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday evenings concerning COVID-19 moving forward and will provide other relevant information regarding our incidence rate or community spread that needs communicated when necessary. You can refer to the Harlan County Health Department page for the daily case numbers.”