COVID-19 vaccine is on its way, but it’ll be awhile before everyone who wants it can get it.
The two vaccines that were to be approved as of this weekend, by Moderna and Pfizer, were being given first to frontline healthcare workers. As of Dec. 16, about 46,000 of the 400,000-some eligible staff in Indiana had requested a vaccination, reported Dr. Lindsay Weaver, chief medical officer for the state.
How the remaining doses will be distributed hasn’t been determined yet, Weaver said. The number of vaccine doses the state is going to get changes daily, and federal and state committees will be deciding what groups of people will be the priorities to receive it.
Corey Frost, Brown County public health preparedness coordinator, plans to get vaccinated next week at IU Health Bloomington, and Brown County Health Officer Dr. Norman Oestrike will be getting it as soon as he can, Frost said.
Medically certified EMS personnel were invited to register to get a vaccine at several area hospitals as well, Frost added.
“We believe it is nothing short of a medical miracle to have one available,” he said.
The Indiana State Department of Health has launched a website at coronavirus.in.gov/vaccine to give information about vaccine availability, safety, and eligibility to receive it, and for people to ask questions to the ISDH about it.
Local health officials are working on a plan to administer the vaccine when it arrives here. There will be no charge to receive it, Frost said.
In trials, those who received the vaccine were 95 percent less likely to get COVID-19 than those who didn’t, reported Dr. Kristina Box, the state health commissioner.
The virus is still spreading quickly in Brown County and all over the state. All 92 counties qualified for “red” status — the highest rate of spread — based on number of cases per 100,000 residents this week.
Brown County has recorded about 300 new cases in the past month, Brown County Emergency Management Agency Director Susan Armstrong told the county commissioners on Dec. 16.
As of Nov. 14, we had 263 cases; by Dec. 17, we had 574.
At least two of those recent cases are county government employees: county commissioners President Jerry Pittman and Human Resources Manager Melissa Stinson. They announced their positive tests at the commissioners meeting.
In addition, a town utilities employee tested positive the week before and was hospitalized; the rest of the crew has tested negative, Nashville Town Council members learned last night.
Pittman and Stinson both said they were doing well. Pittman said he’d received an experimental drug earlier in the week.
“Nobody is exempt. I wasn’t exempt,” Pittman said.
“You never know. If you get it, it may be a bad cold, or it may kill you. We have to take this seriously, and I encourage everyone, please, please be careful, be safe, and wear masks if you have to get out,” he said.
“Don’t get out if you don’t have to right now. We’re in the heat of this pandemic right now, right here. It is real, and it can be deadly. Pay attention and do the right thing for yourself and for your friends, family and neighbors.”
Indiana had the fifth-highest rate of COVID-19 infection per 100,000 people among all states as of Dec. 16.
Even though vaccination has begun nationwide and worldwide, it will still be awhile before life can get back to normal, Box said at this week’s COVID-19 press conference.
“My plea to you is not only for patience, but to remember this: While this vaccine is the light at the end of what’s been a very long, dark tunnel, it will still be a number of months before we can make vaccine available to every Hoosier who wants it in our state. We will still need to wear masks, maintain social distancing, and stay home if you’re sick.”
About 3,200 Hoosiers were hospitalized this week with COVID or COVID-like symptoms, Box said. A total of 52 Brown Countians had been hospitalized for those reasons as of Dec. 16 since the pandemic began in March.
Box advised Hoosiers to not let our guards down over the holidays. The Centers for Disease Control warns against getting together in person with anyone who does not live in your household, including college students and grown children. But if you do decide to gather, wear masks and maintain at least 6 feet of distance between people from different households, the CDC says.
If you have tested positive, have been exposed to someone who has tested positive, or are awaiting test results, you should not socialize in person with anyone.
“I know this guidance is hard, and yet another reminder of all that we have sacrificed in 2020, but I encourage you to get creative … for your own family and for all those empty seats around the table this year,” Box said, referring to the 6,781 Hoosiers who had died after testing positive for COVID-19 thus far.
“I truly believe 2021 will be better.”
