| The Indiana Department of Health announced today that Hoosiers age 60 and older are now eligible to receive a free COVID-19 vaccine. This expansion of eligibility makes the vaccine available to an additional 432,000 Hoosiers. Due to limited vaccine supplies nationally, Indiana has prioritized healthcare workers, first responders and those who are most vulnerable in its vaccine rollout. Individuals age 60 and older account for more than 22 percent of the state’s population but 64 percent of the COVID-19 hospitalizations and 93.3 percent of the deaths.Additional groups will be added as more vaccine becomes available. Vaccine appointments for this newly eligible population will be available over the next four to six weeks to align with the state receiving its expected weekly vaccine allocation. Hoosiers who cannot find an appointment at the nearest location are encouraged to look at other sites in neighboring counties. Appointments are being added regularly as vaccine supplies permit. To schedule a vaccine, visit https://ourshot.in.gov and select a location from one of more than 370 clinics around the state. Hoosiers who do not have a computer or cell phone or those who need assistance scheduling an appointment can call 211 or contact one of Indiana’s Area Agencies on Aging or AARP. Nearly 70 libraries around the state also are helping Hoosiers schedule their appointments. Vaccination clinics that are part of the federal vaccine program, including those at Walmart, Sam’s Club and Kroger, appear on the clinic map at https://ourshot.in.gov but are scheduled through those retailers’ platforms, not through the state centralized system.To date, more than 60 percent of eligible Hoosiers have scheduled an appointment to be vaccinated against COVID-19. As of Monday, 893,246 Hoosiers have received a first dose of vaccine, and 440,028 are fully vaccinated. |
