COVID-19 vaccines will become available at the Brown County Music Center next week for residents meeting certain age or employment specifications.
The Brown County Health Department will begin vaccinations on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at the Brown County Music Center, 200 Maple Leaf Boulevard.
Appointment registration opened the morning of Jan. 8 statewide, with many residents reporting long wait times to complete their request due to high demand. By 4 p.m., 53,000 Hoosiers age 80 or older had scheduled appointments, the Indiana State Department of Health reported.
Anyone 80 or older qualifies for this round of vaccinations, as do people who were previously eligible under phase 1A, such as health care and funeral home workers, police and firefighters, and Department of Correction staff.
Long-term care facility residents also are eligible for vaccinations, but they do not have to come to the music center to get them. Health department nurse Kelly Hilligoss said that CVS was providing vaccine at Brown County Health & Living Community.
All eligible residents must pre-register at coronavirus.in.gov/vaccine or ourshot.in.gov. Click on the red “find a vaccination site” link. Or, call 211 for assistance over the phone between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
A photo ID and proof of eligibility will be required, such as an employment or department ID.
Additional groups will be added to the list of eligible residents as the health department learns what the next priorities will be.
Local health officials’ phones have been ringing with vaccine questions and requests, but right now, there isn’t enough vaccine available right now for everyone to get it, said Corey Frost, the public health preparedness coordinator, at a meeting of the Brown County COAD group this week.
The amount of vaccine each county gets comes from the Indiana State Department of Health, and that number changes, so it’s unclear how much Brown County is getting for this or later rounds. Frost on Jan. 4 had said he expected about 100 doses, but that number wasn’t solid.
On Jan. 6, Gov. Eric Holcomb’s office announced that vaccines in Indiana would be distributed by age group, with the highest-risk, 80-plus-year-old group going next, after the health care and other emergency workers who became eligible in late December.
Other age groups will follow the 80-and-up group — 70 and older, then 60 and older, with other phases to be announced later, Holcomb said.
The impact of vaccinating Hoosiers 60 and older could reach 22.5 percent of Hoosiers, who account for 64.1 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations and 93.3 percent of COVID-19 deaths.
“We have to continue to practice good health measures,” Holcomb said. “Vigilance is just as key as the vaccine is. One doesn’t replace the other.”
As of Jan. 6, more than 128,000 Hoosiers had received their first dose of the vaccine. By the end of the month, 300,000 are scheduled to be vaccinated.
Frost estimated that a mass vaccination phase, making it available for anyone who wants it, could happen in late spring, around April or the first of May.
“A lot of people want their vaccine now, and we don’t have enough of it in the country to do something like that,” Frost told the Brown County COAD, a group of community leaders working to support county residents during the pandemic.
The first 100 doses given in Brown County will be the Moderna vaccine, said Jennifer Heller, environmental health specialist for the Brown County Health Department.
New vaccines are still in the approval pipeline, including one from Johnson & Johnson that only requires one injection, Frost said. The ones currently approved for use, by Moderna and Pfizer, require an initial shot and a later booster.
Frost told COAD that medical staff would be on hand at the music center to monitor everyone getting the vaccine for about 15 minutes to make sure they do not have a reaction.
Susan Armstrong, the county’s emergency management director, told the county commissioners this week that several local emergency medical technicians had volunteered to help.
Anyone else wishing to volunteer — with this or other COVID relief efforts — can register on the state’s volunteer portal at serv-in.org.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
People currently eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine are:
- Anyone 80 and older.
- Healthcare personnel: physicians, osteopathic physicians, primary care providers, rural health providers, OBGYNs, pediatricians, surgeons, dermatologists, neurologists, cardiologists, ed physicians, anesthesiologists, physician assistants, advanced practice registered nurses, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nurse midwives, emergency medical responder, emergency medical technicians, advanced EMTs, paramedics, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, respiratory care practitioners, speech pathologists, audiologists, certified direct entry midwives, certified nurse aides, home health aides, qualified medication assistants, direct support professionals, radiation therapists, radiology technicians, nuclear medicine technologists, limited radiographers, physicists, psychologists, acupuncturists, athletic trainers, chiropractors, dentists, dental hygienists, dietitians, massage therapists, optometrists, ophthalmologists, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy interns/students, podiatrists, genetic counselors, licensed social workers, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, marriage and family associates, addiction counselors, clinical addiction counselors, mental health associates, addiction counselor associates, clinical addition counselor associates, applied behavioral analysis therapists, board-certified behavior analysts, school nurses, medical interpreters, higher ed students enrolled in a health profession program and receiving patient-facing clinical training (medical, nursing, etc.), local health department staff working at COVID-19 testing sites or other patient-facing clinics, coroners, funeral directors.
- Long-term care facility residents in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, residential care facilities, independent living facilities or group homes.
- First responders (full-time, part-time, reservists, volunteers): Indiana State Police; municipal/town police departments; college, university, school corporation and hospital police agencies; county sheriff departments; DNR conservation officers; fire departments (including volunteers); emergency medical services agencies; Department of Correction staff
To sign up, go to ourshot.in.gov or call 211.
