Weekly Health News Round Up 1.8.21

With a COVID-19 vaccine rolling out, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and Kentucky must turn attention to rebuilding the economy. Criminal justice reform and fair chance hiring will be critical in moving Kentucky forward. 

Drug overdoses took the lives of hundreds of people in Jefferson County in 2020. There were more than 528 confirmed overdose deaths, an increase of 39% over the 379 deaths in 2019. About 75 toxicology reports are still pending. 

Bills filed in the state legislature this week would give Kentucky cities and counties new tools to improve community health and reduce health care costs related to high rates of tobacco use in many areas of the state. 

The COVID-19 vaccine is finally here, and health departments are distributing the first doses to frontline workers and first responders. As the state receives more doses of the vaccine, health departments will follow Gov. Beshear's plan for vaccine distribution. 

Kentucky reported a record-breaking number of COVID-19 cases this week, with 5,742 new cases and 34 deaths. Gov. Beshear says this surge in cases shows how “critically important a centralized effort and response is to defeating this virus.” 
​
Researchers say some weapons to fight the coronavirus may already be in your medicine cabinet, such as Vitamin D supplement and melatonin.