Last week it was announced the Brown County Health Department will receive over $170,000 in reimbursements for administering the COVID-19 vaccine.

The health department will continue to administer vaccines to residents, including children under 5 after the Indiana Department of Health announced vaccines for children ages 6 months to 5 years old are now available at some Indiana locations.

But the health department will no longer conduct COVID-19 testing due to a decrease in demand, according to a press release from the health department on June 28.

Residents are encouraged to check availability with pharmacies and primary care providers if they need a test. The health department does have a “very limited quantity” of home rapid tests for residents and they will be available during normal business hours while supplies last, the release states.

The health department is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Home tests can also be ordered by visiting covidtests.gov.

The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for children under 5 received authorization from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control two weeks ago, according to an IDOH release.

The Brown County Health Department, 200 Hawthorne Drive, will offer the Pfizer vaccine to children 6 months and older. To make an appointment call 211. Vaccinations are administered Monday through Friday from 1 to 3:20pm at the health department.

Residents will also soon be able to schedule appointments online at www.ourshot.in.gov.

Vaccines for those 5 and old are also available, including booster doses.

“It (the vaccine) remains the best option for the fight against COVID-19,” said the county’s Emergency Health Preparedness Coordinator Corey Frost.

Frost said overall residents testing for COVID-19 is “minimal.”

“Gauging any spread is difficult with the availability of at home tests,” he continued.

As of June 21, Brown County reported an additional 33 COVID-19 cases since June 2. The county’s reported COVID-19 deaths has remained at 61 since March 6.

Residents who are now partially vaccinated against COVID-19 continues to increase, but at a slower pace. From June 2 to 21, only six residents had received their first dose of the vaccine.

“The health department encourages residents to consider getting vaccinated not only for COVID-19, but all the other vaccines available for pediatrics and adults,” Frost said.

COVID-19 vaccines are available for free. IDOH does bill patient insurance and accepts whatever the insurance company pays for the vaccine services.

Recently, IDOH refunded those insurance collections to the local health department, totaling $175,000. The money is to be used for the “benefit of the health department,” according to a letter from Brown County Health Officer Norman Oestrike.

At the June 20 Brown County Council meeting, members unanimously approved moving the $175,000 from the state into the health department’s fund.

According to Oestrike, the money will be used for improvements to the health department to “improve our ability to provide health services to our community.”

These improvements include making the Hawthorne Drive location handicap accessible, improving the security of the building along with providing separate restrooms for employees and patients to “reduce infectious disease spread,” Oestrike’s letter states.