Poll: More than 50% of Kentuckians believe COVID pandemic is over in their lives

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - While COVID cases continue to climb across the commonwealth, many adults living in the Kentucky area believe the pandemic is over for their day-to-day lives.

The results come from a poll created by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, stating while only one-third of Kentuckians believed the pandemic was over completely in the state, more than half of Kentuckians believed it was over in their personal lives.

The poll found twice as many men versus women believed the pandemic was over in the state, with 42.7% of men stating the commonwealth was finished with the pandemic over 21.1% of women.

“While we are all ready to put COVID-19 behind us, now is not the time to lower to our guard,” Ben Chandler, president and CEO, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky said in a release. “The best way for people to avoid serious illness and stay out of the hospital is to get the vaccine and booster shots. And the more that people do that, the quicker we can find a safe way to live with this virus.”

In addition, around 76.4% of unvaccinated people in Kentucky surveyed said their confidence in the COVID vaccine’s effectiveness has lessened since the omicron variant emerged.

However, when unvaccinated Kentuckians were asked if they would get the vaccine, 18.7% said they would wait to see how it works for other people and 15.6% said they would get the vaccine if required for work, school or other activities.

As of Aug. 9, the commonwealth has reported 2,962,915 Kentuckians who have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, with 1,191,875 fully vaccinated and boosted. The total population who have been fully vaccinated without a booster dose is 58%.

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