COLUMBUS, Ind — The Bartholomew County Health Department has received 200 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine and is now scheduling appointments to administer them to people that state health officials have deemed eligible.
Currently, the vaccine is available to individuals ages 80 or older, as well as to licensed and unlicensed healthcare workers and first responders who have face-to-face interactions with patients or infectious material or work in a public-facing position that requires in-person contact.
Appointments can be made at ourshot.in.gov or calling 211. Individuals can also contact Thrive Alliance at 812-372-6918, Mill Race Center at 812-376-9241 or WellConnect at 812-376-5136 for help registering. State health officials have said family members can register online on behalf of seniors.
State health officials are urging Hoosiers to be “patient” when attempting to sign up via the website or the 211 phone system, as “high interest in COVID-19 vaccines has caused slowdowns.”
The vaccination registration website and phone system for went live Friday at 9 a.m. and quickly got bogged down by people trying to schedule appointments, including in Bartholomew County.
WellConnect was overwhelmed with phone calls, receiving more than 100 during the first couple of hours, said Columbus Regional Health spokeswoman Kelsey DeClue.
Additionally, more than 25 people attempted to walk into CRH’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Columbus even though vaccinations can only be given by appointment after registering on the state’s website.
“We would encourage people to not attempt to walk in because we can’t accommodate any walk-ins whatsoever, and that’s simply because per state mandate people must be registered through the state to receive (vaccines),” DeClue said.
A total of 33,500 Hoosiers age 80 or older registered statewide for free COVID-19 vaccines between 9 and 11:30 a.m. Friday, the first day of eligibility for this age group. Among those registering, 21,000 people scheduled appointments in the first 90 minutes after registration opened. More than 53,000 Hoosiers age 80 or older scheduled appointments by 4 p.m. Friday
By mid-afternoon Friday, the Bartholomew County Health Department had run out of appointment slots, according to the registration website.
The health department will administer the vaccines by appointment only at its location at 2675 Fox Pointe Drive, said Amanda Organist, the department’s director of nursing. A photo ID, proof of age or verification of current employment as a healthcare worker or first responder in Indiana will be required.
“We are eager to be able to provide this vaccine to our community,” Organist said. “We have been planning for multiple months with the Indiana State Department of Health and other community agencies to be ready when vaccine was available.”
Columbus Regional Health will continue to administer vaccines to eligible people at a regional COVID-19 vaccination clinic that it is operating at a warehouse near the hospital campus, DeClue said.
“At this time, all vaccinations conducted by Columbus Regional will take place at our free-standing vaccination clinic on Keller Avenue, just west of the hospital campus,” DeClue said. “…We are thrilled to be a part of this expansion and the effort to continue slowing the spread of the virus and this huge step forward in protecting our most vulnerable populations.”
On Wednesday, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced that the state will start to roll out COVID-19 vaccines by age group after three weeks of prioritizing frontline health care workers and first responders.
First up are individuals ages 80 or older, who health officials say are particularly vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19, making up about 3.8% of the state’s population but 52% of the more than 8,300 deaths from COVID-19 in Indiana, state health officials said.
As more vaccines become available, vaccinations will be opened up to people ages 70 or older, followed by people ages 60 or older, Holcomb said. The timeline, however, for when each successive age group will be eligible to get vaccinated is not yet known.
“By opening the vaccine to those who are 80 or older, then adding people in their 70s and 60s when vaccine supplies allow us to expand, we can best protect the populations that account for 93% of our COVID-19 deaths,” said Dr. Kristina Box, who is the state health commissioner.
More than three weeks into the vaccination campaign, just 5.9 million people in the U.S. had gotten their first shot out of 21.4 million doses distributed as of Wednesday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, estimated this week that between 70% and 85% of the U.S. population will need to be vaccinated to achieve “herd immunity,” a goal he said could be achieved by the start of next fall.
That means about 4.71 million to 5.72 million people in Indiana would need to get vaccinated, including 58,645 to 71,212 people in Bartholomew County — each requiring two doses.
As of Tuesday, a total of 1,685 Bartholomew County residents had been vaccinated, or about 2.3% to 2.8% of what Fauci said would be needed to beat back the pandemic, according to the latest figures from the Indiana State Department of Health.
Additionally, 741 people in Jackson County, 430 in Decatur County, 267 in Jennings County and 182 in Brown County have received the vaccine, state records show.
