Columbus Regional Health is preparing for the final week that it will offer first doses of COVID-19 vaccines at its standalone clinic near the hospital campus.
The clinic, at 1702 Keller Ave., has been operating at reduced hours over the past few weeks as part of a plan to gradually phase out vaccinations there and start offering shots at primary care clinics by August, CRH officials said.
The last day for first doses is July 9, with the last official day of the clinic will be July 30 to allow health officials to administer the remaining second doses.
Before this month, the vaccination site had been operating Monday to Saturday since the initial doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Bartholomew County in December.
Appointment and walk-in hours will be posted online at crh.org/vaccine.
“We’re transitioning to giving the vaccine more in primary care clinics, so just more of a traditional distribution method,” said Dr. Slade Crowder, Columbus Regional Health vice president of physician enterprise operations and associate chief medical officer at CRH.
The transition from the standalone clinic to primary care offices comes as demand for the vaccines has stagnated across much of the country, including Bartholomew County.
As of Wednesday morning, a total of 38,326 Bartholomew County residents were fully vaccinated — about 45.7% of the county’s estimated total population and 54.3% of those who are eligible for the shots, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
A total of 288 first doses were administered to Bartholomew County residents last week, down from 2,477 the week of April 11.
Most infectious disease experts have estimated that at least 70% to 80% of the U.S. population will need to get vaccinated to achieve the threshold they believe is needed to stop uncontrolled spread of COVID-19.
CRH officials hope that by offering COVID-19 vaccines at places like Sandcrest Family Medicine, 3203 Middle Road, or PromptMed, 2502 25th Street, they may be able to encourage patients who might be on the fence about the shots to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated after talking with their doctor.
The hospital system also is updating its electronic records system to alert doctors to whether a patient has been fully vaccinated and prompt them to discuss the shots with the patient, much like what CRH has done in the past with flu shots and mammograms, Crowder said.
“Probably the last groups of people who get vaccinated may want to talk to their doctor and might need some convincing or need some questions answered, and so having that right there where someone talks to the doctor, gets their questions answered, and then decide, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it,’ and we’re able to act on it right then,” Crowder said.
“I think it’s gonna help us increase the number of people who we vaccinate,” he added.
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Visit crh.org/vaccine for more information on how to get a COVID-19 vaccine at Columbus Regional Health, or the state of Indiana’s online vaccination portal ourshot.in.gov.
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