cstribling1@murraystate.edu
On Tuesday, Feb. 2, President Bob Jackson and a panel of distinguished medical, governmental and historical officials talked to the Murray State community about the latest COVID-19 updates and the vaccine at the first virtual Town & Gown President’s Breakfast of 2021.
Panelists included Chief Medical Officer Bob Hughes, CEO of Murray Calloway County Hospital Jerry Penner, Executive Advisor at the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Mark Carter, Mayor Bob Rogers and history professor James Humphries.
In the forum, Carter said as of Monday, Feb. 1, a total of 362,271 people have been vaccinated in Kentucky with 86 percent of the first doses received administered. Carter said they were approaching Gov. Andy Beshear’s goal of having 90 percent of the doses received into arms within seven days.
Credit Murray-Calloway County Chamber of Commerce Facebook Livestream
The Murray Calloway County Chamber of Commerce annual chamber breakfast went virtual this year and included a look back on how Murray-Calloway County Hospital and the community have been impacted by COVID-19. Murray-Calloway County Hospital CEO Jerry Penner addressed the group of local business leaders and gave a timeline of how the virus affected hospital operations. He also gave vaccine information and an outline of how they will be distributed in the community over the next year.
Penner said the hospital began making preparations in early spring, including installing UV Air Scrubbing in the HVAC system and creating a “negative pressure” floor which would become the COVID ward. He said the hospital saw a lot of nursing staff leave during the beginning of the pandemic; these were nurses considered high risk for COVID and the threat of the virus coaxed them into early retirement. Penner said this problem w