supply chain shortages and governors were fighting with one another for tests. then the vaccines hit and demand for tests went way down. we saw things like testing centers closing and abbott as you mentioned destroying those test kits. now we got omicron and demand is shooting way up? people are struggling to get these tests. how are we going to be prepared for the next wave to come. how is the next wave going to be? omicron is incredibly infectious. the case curve is going straight up. it looks like the apollo rock rocket is taking off. the president is purchasing 500 million tests to giveaway free to the public.
54% of americans say abortion should always or mostly be legal, 42% say it should always or mostly be illegal. still, several states are already considering copycat legislation after the supreme court upheld the texas law. when the supreme court goes out and makes a decision like this, it clearly is going to send a signal to all the states that are interested in banning abortions. and joining me now are two governors who are living our political divide. andy beshear is the democratic governor of a very red kentucky where the ledge slaw legislature has a veto proof majority, and larry mow began is the republican governor of a very blue maryland where the democratic legislature has a veto-proof majority and in the spirit of bipartisanship, the two governors agreed to appear together today. welcome to both of you. thank you. good morning. governor bushear, let me start with you. i m going to put up the case curve. you know this curve very well
15 states have attempted to ban abortion before viability, but have been stopped by court order. 54% of americans say abortions should always or mostly be legal. 42% say it should always or mostly be illegal. still several states are already considering copycat legislation after the supreme court upheld the texas law. when the supreme court goes out and makes a decision like this, it clearly is going to send a signal to all the states that are interested in banning abortions. joining me now are two governors who are living our political divide. andy beshear is the democratic governor of a very red kentucky where the republican legislature has a veto-proof majority. larry hogan is the republican governor of a very blue maryland where the democratic legislature has a veto-proof majority. in the spirit of bipartisanship the two governors agreed to appear together today. i thank you both and welcome to both of you. thank you. good morning. governor beshear, let me start with you.
thank you. good morning. governor bushear, let me start with you. i m going to put up the case curve. you know this curve very well with covid right now. it s astonishing how fast delta has surged in the state of kentucky. you re trying to deal with it, but you have been limited in your ability to do certain things by your republican legislature. what can you get done now to try to slow the surge in kentucky? well, our situation is dire. we re setting case records. we have a record number of kentuckians in the hospital battling covid, in the icu battling for their lives. we have a record number of families that are praying for their loved one who is on a ventilator, needing that assistance to breathe. recent supreme court case and our legislature limit my ability to do some things like masking. if i have the ability to do it right now, we would have a masking order when you are in public and indoors.
the adult population, with at least one dose. it s 64%. if you took the current rate of vaccination and locked that in for the next three or so weeks, right up until july 4th, that 64 is on pace to get to about 68. under the 70. like you say, week to week to week, we have been seeing the vaccination rate slow. if it continues to slow, we may come in 67, 66, even lower. it would take a significant uptick to hit 70% by july 4th, as it is right now. it looks like it will be close but not there. if you look at one other age group, senior citizens, nearly 90% with one shot there. these are the fully vaccinated. more than half of adults, three-quarters of those over 65. here is the case curve.