The first two mobile COVID-19 clinics in Bartholomew County got off to a very modest start.
A total of 24 people turned out for a mobile clinic Thursday at Hauser Jr.-Sr. High School, said Jayne Pennington, a project implementation specialist at WindRose Health Network who has been directing a COVID-19 testing and vaccination site in Edinburgh.
That was more than the seven people who rolled up their sleeves at a mobile clinic this past Tuesday at Taylorsville Elementary School.
Pennington said WindRose was prepared to administer up to 60 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine over the two days and could have gotten 60 more if needed.
“We have ample vaccine,” Pennington said. “We just need people’s arms.”
Amanda Organist, director of nursing at the Bartholomew County Health Department, said she felt the turnout at the mobile clinics so far “has been great.”
“Even if only one person showed to receive their vaccine, it is worth it,” Organist said.
The two clinics were the first in a series of mobile clinics planned across the county in the coming weeks — including in Elizabethtown, Hartsville, Hope, Taylorsville and Edinburgh — as local health officials make a push to get as many people as possible vaccinated against COVID-19.
Last month, WindRose and the Bartholomew County Health Department announced plans to hold mobile vaccination sites in the parking lot of a local McDonald’s, a mobile home park, outside of public schools, at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds, among other locations.
The mobile clinics come as the number of Bartholomew County residents getting vaccinated each week continues to decline, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
The seven-day average number of doses administered to Bartholomew County residents was 191.4 on Thursday, down from 859.3 on April 12, state records show.
A total of 293 Bartholomew County residents received their first dose from Sunday to Thursday, and another 38 received the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to state records.
By comparison, it was common for 300 to 600 local residents to get their first dose each day from late March to mid April.
Last month, a total of 277 people received the J&J vaccine at a two-day mass vaccination site at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds, including several people who walked in without an appointment.
However, turnout was still far below the 1,000 doses that officials said they were prepared to administer and the 924 people who received the Moderna vaccine at a previous mass vaccination clinic at the fairgrounds last month.
In April, the Jackson County Health Department decided to move a mass vaccination clinic from Seymour High School to the health department’s office because demand was much lower than anticipated, said Lynn Montgomery, the department’s public health coordinator.
“We were prepared to administer 700 doses, but the response was not what we anticipated, and so we ended up doing less than 100,” Montgomery said.
As of Friday morning, a total of 34,994 of Bartholomew County’s estimated 83,779 residents were fully vaccinated — or 41.7% of the county’s total population, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
Additionally, 37,065 Bartholomew County residents had received at least one dose, or about 44.2% of the total population, based on U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.
Nearly 51% of the total U.S. population had received at least one dose as of Friday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That is still far below the threshold of at least 70% to 80%, or more, of the population that most infectious disease experts say is needed to reach herd immunity.
However, local health officials continue to be hopeful that more local residents will roll up their sleeves soon.
“Our hope is that more people will get vaccinated as they see the safety and efficacy of the vaccines,” Organist said. “We are still having individuals make appointments for their first vaccine. We are having several off site clinics in different areas of the county to reach more individuals.”
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Upcoming Pfizer vaccination sites, which are open to anyone age 12 and up, include:
- June 17: McDonald’s parking lot, 11995 U.S. 31 North in Edinburgh, 9 a.m. to noon. Call Windrose at 317-680-9901 to register.
- June 17: Driftside Home Community Clubhouse, 13540 U.S. 31 in Edinburgh, 1 to 4 p.m. Call Windrose at 317-680-9901 to register.
- June 28: Bartholomew County 4-H Fairgrounds sheriff’s tent, 750 W. County Road 200S, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Call the Bartholomew County Health Department at 812-379-1555, option 1, to register.
Upcoming Johnson & Johnson clinics, which are available to anyone age 18 and up, include:
- June 10: Mill Street Deli, 102 Mill St. in Elizabethtown, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call the Bartholomew County Health Department at 812-379-1555, option 1, to register.
- June 18: Heartsville Sweets, 100 N. Jackson St., in Hartsville, 9 to 11 a.m. Call the Bartholomew County Health Department at 812-379-1555, option 1, to register.
- June 19: White Diamond Lavender Farms, 9415 E. County Road 800N in Hope, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call the Bartholomew County Health Department at 812-379-1555, option 1, to register.
Registration is preferred for these mobile clinics but walk-ins are welcome.
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“We have ample vaccine, we just need people’s arms.”
— Jayne Pennington, a project implementation specialist at WindRose Health Network
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