GREENFIELD — The state is set today to throw open its vaccine availability to everyone 16 and older, marking an emphatic expansion of eligibility with the confidence that enough COVID-19 shots will be available in coming weeks for everyone who wants one.
The new threshold — the eighth time the state health department has lowered the age limit since vaccines came online in December — is part of the state’s strategy to loosen pandemic restrictions that have been in place for a year. Indiana’s current cases, positivity rate, hospitalizations and deaths have all dropped since mid-January, and nearly a million Hoosiers are fully vaccinated. Gov. Eric Holcomb has announced mass vaccination clinics are being scheduled, and the state also is working on a large employer vaccination program.
Starting on April 6, the statewide mask mandate, which has been in place since July 2020, will become an advisory. Face coverings will remain mandatory in all state buildings and facilities and in all vaccination and COVID testing sites. K-12 schools will continue under current requirements through the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.
Also on April 6, decisions about venue capacity and social gatherings will be made by local officials. Customers in restaurants, bars and nightclubs will no longer be required by the state to be seated. Six feet of spacing between tables and other seating will still be recommended, as will be spacing between non-household parties.
The recommendations acknowledge that infections are still spreading and deaths are occurring, albeit at a lower rate. In Hancock County on Tuesday, March 30, the health department reported a COVID-19 death for the county, bringing its total to 136. A total of 7,685 positive cases have been reported since the start of the pandemic. Statewide, 12,632 people have died of COVID-19, and 685,453 have been infected, according to data posted at midday Tuesday.
With the lowering of the age threshold to 16, the state health department has issued guidelines for parents seeking vaccinations for those under 18. When they register at the state site, www.ourshot.in.gov, they should be sure to sign up for a site that offers the Pfizer vaccine, which is the only one approved for 16- and 17-year-olds. The Pfizer vaccine is in wide use at the vaccination clinics in Hancock County. It is a two-dose regimen.
Parents may either go with their child to the appointment or provide written authorization that the minor may receive the vaccine if unaccompanied, according to a post Tuesday from the state health department.
Health leaders caution that even after young people get the vaccine, they should continue taking precautions in public and at school, such as wearing a mask, maintaining distance from others and avoiding large crowds.
“Experts are still researching things like how long the protection from vaccine lasts and if it prevents you from giving (COVID-19) to other people,” the health department said in the post.
Some health experts worry it is premature to lift the statewide restrictions, pointing to the steep increase in hospitalizations and deaths the state saw beginning in September after the governor lifted most business restrictions before reinstating crowd limits after winning reelection in November.
“We put a lot of restrictions in place last year, there was some initial hesitation by some parts of the population to comply with some of those orders,” said Brian Dixon, an epidemiologist at Indiana University’s Fairbanks School of Public Health. “And then what we saw in the fall is that rates went up, they skyrocketed because people were not following precautions.”
The Indiana Department of Health will continue to provide county-level, color-coded metrics to convey easy-to-understand information about whether virus levels are increasing or decreasing locally. Hancock County currently is at the “yellow” level, indicating the second-lowest rate of community COVID-19 spread, according to the four-level metric.
The state public health emergency, in place since March 2020, will be renewed for another 30 days, beginning today (Wednesday, March 31).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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COVID-19 vaccinations in Indiana are currently available to:
Those age 16 and older
Health-care workers
First-responders
Educators and school support staff
Specific groups of patients at highest risk of severe illness from COVID-19 identified by their health care providers
Veterans who receive care at certain Veterans Affairs hospitals
For more information on eligibility, to sign up for a vaccine at state-supplied clinics and to access links to sign up at private pharmacies, visit ourshot.in.gov. Assistance for signing up at state-supplied sites is also available by calling 211.
In Hancock County, vaccines are available at clinics at Hancock Regional Hospital and the Hancock County Health Department. Shots also are available at Meijer in McCordsville and at Kroger and Walmart in Greenfield.
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