INDIANAPOLIS — State health officials on Tuesday expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to any Indiana resident age 55 and up, raising the total number of eligible Bartholomew County residents to approximately 1 in 3.
Additionally, the Indiana State Department of Health announced three mass vaccination sites later this month, including one at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Friday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The mass vaccination sites, which also include Ivy Tech Community College in Sellersburg and the University of Notre Dame, will offer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which federal regulators authorized on Saturday.
The Ivy Tech site in Sellersburg will operate March 12 and 13 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the site at the University of Notre Dame will be held at the Compton Family Ice Arena from March 26 and 27 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Appointments are required to attend any of these three vaccination sites, to be made though ourshot.in.gov. or by calling 211.
“Getting tens of thousands of vaccines in arms in a matter of days is a huge undertaking that requires incredible partnerships,” Indiana Gov. Eric J. Holcomb said in a statement. “We are incredibly grateful to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Notre Dame and Ivy Tech for their willingness to meet this challenge head-on to help save Hoosier lives.”
The Walmart located at 2025 Merchant Mile on the west side of Columbus was listed as a vaccination site as of Tuesday morning, bringing the number of sites in Bartholomew County to six.
The Bartholomew County Health Department, 2675 Foxpointe Drive; Columbus Regional Health, 1702 Keller Ave.; Walmart, 735 Whitfield Drive.; Sam’s Club, 2715 Merchant Mile; and Kroger, 3060 National Road, also are listed as vaccination sites.
Vaccination appointments can be scheduled on the state’s online portal, ourshot.in.gov, or by calling 211. Healthcare workers and first responders also are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. No walk-in appointments are allowed.
The announcement made came one week after vaccine eligibility was expanded to people age 60 and up.
As of Tuesday morning, at least 13,104 Bartholomew County residents had received their first vaccine dose, or about 15.6% of the county’s population, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
Additionally, at least 7,540 Bartholomew County residents had received their second dose and were considered fully vaccinated, or about 8.9% of the county’s population.
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Currently, Indiana residents age 55 and up, as well as healthcare workers and first responders, are eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccine appointments can be scheduled on the state’s online portal, ourshot.in.gov, or by calling 211.
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The number of Columbus Regional Health employees who are quarantining due to testing positive for COVID-19 or are experiencing symptoms consistent with the coronavirus has fallen drastically since December, the hospital said.
On Tuesday, a total of three CRH employees were quarantining, down from an all-time high of 60 at one point in December.
CRH does not yet know what percentage of its staff has been vaccinated against COVID-19, as the vaccine registration is done through the Indiana State Department of Health.
Currently, state health officials are working to provide the hospital system with the percentage of staff who have been vaccinated, CRH officials said.
CRH is not requiring its staff to get vaccinated.
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