6 p.m. UPDATE
INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly 96,000 Hoosiers ages 65 to 69 scheduled appointments to receive their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of 5 p.m. Monday, the first day of their eligibility.
A total of nearly 103,000 first-dose appointments for all eligible age groups were scheduled Monday. Since Indiana began offering vaccine in late December, more than 1.3 million first- and second-dose appointments have been scheduled.
Vaccine clinics are widely available across the state. Hoosiers who cannot find an appointment at the nearest location are encouraged to look at other sites in neighboring counties. Appointments are being added regularly as vaccine supplies permit.
ORIGINAL STORY
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana State Department of Health expanded eligibility Monday for COVID-19 vaccinations to Hoosiers age 65 and up.
The move makes an additional 6% of Bartholomew County residents eligible for shots, bringing total eligibility in the county to about 1 in 5 residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates and data on eligible health care workers from the Indiana State Department of Health.
These estimates, however, do not include eligible first responders.
As of 5 a.m. Monday morning, at least 6,330 Bartholomew County had received their first COVID-19 shot, or 7.5% of the county’s population, according to state records. At least 1,967 county residents had received their second shot as of Monday morning and were considered fully vaccinated, or 2.3% of the county’s population.
Currently, there are four vaccination sites in Bartholomew County, including clinics operated by Columbus Regional Health, Bartholomew County Health Department, Walmart and Kroger.
The vaccinations are free and appointments at the sites operated by CRH, Bartholomew County Health Department and Walmart must be scheduled online at ourshot.in.gov or by calling 211. Shots scheduled at Kroger must be scheduled online at www.kroger.com/rx/guest/get-vaccinated.
No walk-in appointments are permitted.
“Vaccine supply remains limited nationally. Indiana has adopted an age-based approach to expanding vaccine eligibility in order to fulfill its goals of reducing hospitalizations, saving lives and protecting vulnerable populations,” the Indiana State Department of Health said in a statement Monday.
The expanded eligibility came two days after the Bartholomew County Health Department vaccinated 183 people at an offsite vaccination clinic at Mill Race Center and the number of vaccine doses CRH has administered at its clinic surpassed 10,000.
On Saturday, the Bartholomew County Health Department vaccinated 183 people at Mill Race Center, 900 Lindsey St., said Amanda Organist, the department’s director of nursing.
As of the end of the day Saturday, a total of 10,079 vaccine doses had been administered at CRH’s clinic, including 6,637 people who had received their first of two shots and 3,442 people who had received the second shot, said CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue.
However, it is not known whether additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be allotted to clinics in Columbus now that eligibility has been expanded. CRH has administered vaccines to residents of multiple counties.
CRH officials said they do not anticipate an increase in the hospital system’s allotment of vaccines at this time. CRH has only administered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine since Jan. 23.
“Nothing has changed with the dosage that we’re receiving,” DeClue said. “Even with the increased eligibility, we’ll just be getting the same supply that we’ve been getting.”
The Bartholomew County Health Department vaccinated 557 people last week and also anticipates its vaccine allotment to stay the same for now, Organist said.
Neither CRH nor the Bartholomew County Health Department said they were experiencing any shortages in supplies.
Organist said the Indiana State Department of Health “is providing ancillary supplies such as Band Aids, alcohol swabs and needles.”
