COLUMBUS, Ind. — Columbus Regional Health is awaiting guidance from state health officials as they continue to mull over how and when Indiana will move into the next phase of COVID-19 vaccine distribution after vaccinations got off to a slower-than-expected start in much of the country.
The state is prioritizing health care workers who have direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious material, hospital workers and nursing home staff and residents in the first part of the initial phase of vaccine distribution, called Phase 1A, which is expected to continue through January and part of February.
While CRH officials said they were pleased with the immunizations so far, they said they’re keeping it flexible in order to adjust for changes from the state as the vaccination effort opens up to more and more people.
As of Saturday, CRH had vaccinated 2,574 health care workers from Bartholomew, Jackson and Decatur counties at a vaccination clinic it operates in Columbus, up 720 since this past Tuesday, hospital officials said.
State health officials are aiming for all eligible health care workers to receive their initial shots by Jan. 16, which would be the halfway point of the eight weeks initially planned for Phase 1A, said CRH spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue.
But after that, CRH officials “are not really sure how things are going to work,” DeClue said.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
