COLUMBUS, Ind. — State health officials on Tuesday expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to Indiana residents age 45 and up, making the vaccine available to an additional 415,640 Hoosiers, including an estimated 5,343 Bartholomew County residents.
More than 45% of Bartholomew County residents are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines, not including first responders, teachers and support staff.
The announcement came one day after teachers and support staff in Indiana became eligible for COVID-19 vaccines and nearly two weeks after Hoosiers age 50 and up were made eligible.
Vaccine appointments can be scheduled on the state’s online portal, ourshot.in.gov, or by calling 211.
As of Monday morning, at least 16,151 Bartholomew County residents had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, or 19.2% of the county’s population, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
Additionally, at least 10,889 Bartholomew County residents were fully vaccinated as of Tuesday morning, or about 12.9% of the population.
Statewide, nearly 1.28 million Hoosiers had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 837,233 were fully vaccinated as of Monday morning.
Officials at Columbus Regional Hospital said the increased vaccine eligibility will likely have a “positive effect” on hospitalizations and help reach herd immunity, which health experts have said would require vaccinating at least 70% of the population.
“As more of us (even those with a lower risk of disease) can be vaccinated, the more positive effect on it will have on reaching overall herd immunity and really squelching the spread of this virus and its variants,” said CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue.
