As someone who lives in Cincinnati, my perception is that the restrictions (reflecting to some extent public opinion) have been mostly middle-of-the-pack in both OH and KY. OH's governor is a moderate Republican who may lose his primary over having restrictions at all, and KY's governor is a Democrat who narrowly won the office in 2019 in a state that's generally pretty conservative. The blurred borders make total sense to me in that context, because not much changes across them.
Ohio border is clearly visible but KY/WV blends well. I don't get it though, why would Athens County, OH be almost 4 points higher on the hesitancy scale than Lewis County, KY despite having better vaccination stats?