Indiana extends COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to people 55 years and older
Shari RudavskyAs additional doses of vaccine become available, Indiana is opening up eligibility for shots at a faster pace.
State health officials on Tuesday announced that people ages 55-59 can now make vaccination appointments at the nearly 400 clinics across the state. Make appointments online at ourshot.in.gov or call 211.
The wider age eligibility is just one avenue of accelerating vaccination efforts in Indiana, with news that people with certain medical conditions will now qualify, as will a wider group of military veterans.
To accommodate the newly eligible, Indiana is opening three mass immunization clinics this week, including at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
People with any one of five medical conditions will be able to make an appointment after receiving a link from the Indiana Department of Health, the agency said on its Facebook page. Health care providers will share their patients' names with the department, which will then send a text or email.
These five conditions are: Down syndrome, sickle cell disease, solid organ transplants, patients on dialysis, and those in treatment for cancer currently or who have who have active lymphoma, leukemia or multiple myeloma.
Last Tuesday, the state extended an invitation to those 60 and older to be vaccinated, more than three weeks after offering people ages 65-69 that opportunity.
Bad weather, which caused the cancellation of vaccine clinics, and delayed shipments prevented Indiana from moving on to ages 60-64 as soon as they might have, state health officials have said.
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But with a slew of vaccine sites to choose from, state health officials are trying to persuade as many people as possible to sign up to get vaccinated. Last week, the Indiana Department of Health held 10 mobile clinics to reach those in underserved areas.
Sunday’s approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires only one dose and does not need to be refrigerated further increased the possibility that states might extend eligibility to broader pools of people.
People on dialysis, who have had organ transplants, have certain cancers, sickle cell anemia and Down syndrome are also eligible to be vaccinated.
In a sign that sites expect more vaccine to be flowing, Veteran Health Indiana will now vaccinate any veteran over the age of 18.
In an effort to have more vaccine available for Hoosiers, last week the state restricted vaccinations to Indiana residents. About 17,000 out-of-state residents, who mostly work in Indiana, had received vaccine.
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Some have reported difficulty scheduling appointments in the first few hours after a new group becomes eligible. However, the day after appointments opened to those 60 to 64, nearly 40% of Indiana residents in that age range had either been vaccinated or made appointments to do so. As of last week, 63% of those age 65 to 69 and 70% of people ages 70 to 79 had had a vaccine appointment or were scheduled for one.
On Monday, the state passed the 1 million mark for first doses of vaccine.
Clinic at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indiana Department of Health will host three mass immunization clinics for eligible Indiana residents across the state starting this week, including one at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The IMS clinic, to be held this week, will be followed by one next week at Ivy Tech Community College in Sellersburg and then one toward the end of the month at the University of Notre Dame.
All three clinics will deliver the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was approved for emergency use over the weekend, state health officials said in a press release.
Unlike the two previously approved vaccines, which require two doses, the J&J vaccine consists of just one shot.
However, studies suggest that it does not perform quite as well as the two other vaccines. The J&J vaccine is about 72% effective against COVID-19 while the other two are more than 94% effective.
That's still higher than flu vaccines, according to Marion County health officials, which they have said are about 60% effective.
Appointments will be required for the mass clinics.
The IMS clinic will run from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Participants will enter through the main gate off 16th St. at 4790 W. 16th St. and stay in their cars.
The Sellersburg clinic will run March 12 to 13 and the Notre Dame one, to be held at the university's Compton Family Ice Arena, will be held March 26 to 27.
An additional clinic may be held in Gary in the future, state health officials say.
Veterans 18 and over eligible
Veterans in the state 18 and older can sign up for the shot.
Last week, enrolled veterans 45 and older who receive care through the VA could sign up for the vaccine at the Indianapolis Veteran Affairs Medical Center, according to Veteran Health Indiana's Facebook page.
At that time, the Indianapolis VA had vaccinated more than 15,000 veterans.
Monday, the VA opened eligibility for those 18 and over according to the Facebook page. Some designated caregivers also are eligible to receive vaccine, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Veterans who are already enrolled can call (317) 988-4899 to schedule an appointment.
Those who are not enrolled or do not receive care through the VA learn more about eligibility at va.gov/health-care/eligibility/.
Contact IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky at shari.rudavsky@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter: @srudavsky.