KENTUCKY — Adjusting to the new normal: it's a phrase we've all come to know and probably have said on at least on one or more occasions over the course of the pandemic.
And just two years ago, this month, the state of Kentucky recorded its first case of COVID-19.
As the disease began to spread, it shifted how we all live our daily lives at work, school or just even in our social lives, when preparing to go out in public spaces.
"But like, like just about everything with COVID, you have some mixed emotions first. It was hard. And it has been hard on so many families. We've lost 14,000 Kentuckians. That's more lives lost than any three wars we participated in, as a state combined. It was everybody's life turned upside down. There was one variant after another, it was missed opportunities for our kids and folks that are out there. And so that's the part that is hard and we're gonna continue to process our grief for some time to come," explains Gov. Andy Beshear (D)
During this In Focus Kentucky segment, Andy Beshear, Kentucky's 63rd Governor of the Commonwealth participates in a one-on-one interview to reflect back on the last two years, as he has led the Commonwealth, along with others within his administration and across the state, in managing the state’s response to the global pandemic.
"I'm really proud of the people of Kentucky for showing up every day and caring about one another. Doing what it took to protect others out there whether they knew them or didn't know them, truly living their faith and and their values. I'm proud of things the state was able to do that had never been done pretty much in human history before. And we went from no tests. Or, you know, 75 tests a day in our state lab to having one of the most robust and flexible testing systems that could do hundreds of 1000s of COVID tests. We went from not having enough PPE for even our health care heroes walking into a COVID wing, to having so much that everyone can get the highest grade masks that they desire to wear, when they choose. We went from not even knowing that we'd have vaccines for years, to one of the fastest developed vaccines, and then building the truly toughest logistics challenge since World War Two, a method through which we have vaccinated more people faster in this state than ever before. It's 76% of folks 18 And up that can make their own health care decisions, and almost 70% of people who are eligible and that is really in about a year since the vaccine became widely available. So yes, it hurts what we've been through and it's going to hurt us for a long time. But we have had the most effective response. To a one in every 100 year pandemic in human history," Beshear added.
You can watch the full In Focus segment above.