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Dr. Ernie Fletcher, Founder of the Fletcher Group Rural Center of Excellence, and wife Glenna joined four other former governors of Kentucky and their wives Monday who took their COVID-19 vaccinations publicly to encourage trust in the new vaccine.

Speaking at the capital rotunda in Frankfort January 4, 2021, Fletcher said, “This hopefully—and we’re very optimistic—will bring an end to this pandemic and allow us to open up the economy and get people back with their families. We would encourage everyone to take the vaccine. It’s safe and it’s effective.”

The five former Governors span five decades of service to the commonwealth. Those receiving the Moderna vaccine included Julian Carroll, John Y. Brown Jr., Martha Layne Collins and Bill Collins, Ernie and Glenna Fletcher and Steve and Jane Beshear.

“There’s no partisanship in this,” said Fletcher. “It’s about families, lives and businesses.”

COVID has killed more than 2,700 people in Kentucky. The first vaccinations in the state were given on Dec. 14 when local hospitals began receiving and administering 38,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to front-line health care workers. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have now been administered to more than 60,000 Kentuckians, predominantly health care workers. Kentucky is expected to receive 53,700 additional doses this week.

According to a joint statement from the five governors, “We all look forward to the day we can get back out into the Kentucky communities we love so much and gather with our friends and family, but until then, we urge our fellow Kentuckians to wear masks, limit their gatherings and take the vaccine.”

The statement referred to the vaccine as a “medical miracle” and the “shot of hope Kentuckians and Americans have been looking forward to for almost a year to save lives, reduce the spread of this deadly virus, allow more of our neighbors to return to work and ensure our children and educators can safely return to school.”