HANCOCK COUNTY — Appointments for COVID-19 vaccines have been filling up fast since the state dropped the eligibility to age 16 earlier this week.
Officials expect doses to keep up with the demand as they also get ready to roll out vaccines to some large businesses as well as colleges and universities. They’re keeping a close eye on variants of the virus, too, along with a small number of cases that are turning up despite recipients being fully vaccinated.
Throughout much of the vaccine roll-out, wait times at both of Hancock County’s state-supplied clinics have usually been less than two weeks. On Wednesday afternoon, the day eligibility was lowered to age 16, the Hancock County Health Department’s clinic was booked out for three weeks while Hancock Regional Hospital’s was almost four.
Eligible recipients can sign up for a vaccine at state-supplied clinics at ourshot.in.gov. Links are also available at that website to sign up at clinics not on the state’s scheduling system, like pharmacies at Kroger, Meijer and Walmart.
Recipients do not have to get a vaccine in their county of residence.
Indiana residents have the opportunity to sign up for an appointment at another mass vaccination clinic coming to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway later this month. As of Thursday afternoon, appointments were still available on April 25. The clinic will provide the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one dose.
Dr. Kristina Box, Indiana state health commissioner, said about 5.4 million Hoosiers were eligible to sign up for a vaccine as of Wednesday morning. In the first half-hour of expanded eligibility, 21,000 appointments were scheduled, she continued, adding 96,000 had been scheduled by midday.
Gov. Eric Holcomb noted about 39% of eligible state residents have made an appointment to get vaccinated so far.
“As … our supply increases, so will your ability to schedule an appointment,” Holcomb said during a media briefing.
Dr. Lindsay Weaver, chief medical officer for the Indiana State Department of Health, said the state is expecting more than 405,000 vaccine doses this week.
State officials also announced those receiving COVID-19 vaccines in Indiana no longer have to be residents of the state. Box said the decision was made to comply with Federal Emergency Management Agency vaccination site rules and to accommodate those living in households with multiple individuals but lack a document showing an Indiana address, college students, and those who live out of state but work and spend a significant amount of time in Indiana.
“We want to remove any barrier,” Box said.
Weaver said preparations are underway for vaccine clinics at institutes of higher education and some large businesses as well. Business efforts will focus initially on those with 1,000 or more employees, she said, adding about a dozen are in the process of launching clinics, the majority of which have in-house or third-party partners who administer vaccines to employees. This week, 24,000 doses are going to those businesses. Other organizations are finalizing plans, and are anticipated to receive 6,000 doses also this week.
The state sent surveys to colleges and universities to gauge willingness to receive vaccines and administer them to students and staff, Weaver continued.
“Our goal is to provide at least the first dose of vaccine to the students before they leave campuses for the semester,” she said, explaining 60,000 of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine will be allocated for that purpose.
Weaver was also hopeful toward the success Pfizer-BioNTech recently reported in clinical trials among 12- to 15-year-olds and the company’s plans to seek an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for that population.
“Our hope is that we will have yet another age group that will be eligible to be vaccinated by this summer,” Weaver said.
Box expressed concern over the nearly 170 cases of four different COVID-19 variants that have been detected in the state as well as Indiana’s proximity to Michigan, which has reported a high number of variants.
She said the state is working with the Regenstrief Institute to identify breakthrough cases — those who test positive for COVID-19 at least 14 days after being fully vaccinated. Indiana has reported 221 such cases as of March 16 — less than 0.04% of all fully immunized Hoosiers. More than 21% have occurred in those 80 and older.
“We will also begin testing samples from these cases to determine if they were caused by variants,” Box said. “This will help us to better understand the vaccines’ effectiveness against variants and inform our strategies going forward.”
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COVID-19 vaccinations in Indiana are currently available to those age 16 and older. To sign up for a vaccine, 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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COVID-19 data through early Thursday, April 1
Hancock County
- 371 new tests administered
- 19 new cases
- 4.9% seven-day (March 19-25) positivity rate all tests, 9.7% cumulative rate
- 0 new deaths
- 93,456 total tests administered
- 40,363 total individuals tested
- 7,705 total cases
- 9.5% seven-day (March 19-25) positivity rate unique individuals, 19.1% cumulative rate
- 136 total deaths
- 16,772 fully vaccinated
- 25,468 first of two doses administered
Indiana
- 35,285 new tests administered (July 15, 2020-March 31, 2021), 5,582 new individuals tested
- 1,240 new cases (April 19, 2020-March 31, 2021)
- 4% seven-day (March 19-25) positivity rate all tests, 9.2% cumulative rate
- 9 new deaths (Jan. 8-March 31)
- 8,938,557 total tests administered
- 3,262,518 total individuals tested
- 687,713 total cases
- 10.2% seven-day (March 19-25) positivity rate unique individuals, 21.1% cumulative rate
- 12,642 total deaths
- 406 total probable deaths
- 62.7% ICU beds in use – non-COVID
- 5.5% ICU beds in use – COVID
- 31.8% ICU beds available
- 17.2% ventilators in use – non-COVID
- 1.6% ventilators in use – COVID
- 81.2% ventilators available
- Hospital census: 657 total COVID-19 patients (421 confirmed, 236 under investigation)
- 1,162,464 fully vaccinated
- 1,695,022 first of two doses administered
Source: Indiana State Department of Health
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