Indiana teachers to be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines from state on Monday

All Indiana educators and school support staff will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations from the state starting Monday, the state health department announced Wednesday afternoon.

The eligibility list will include teachers and staff in pre-K through high school, childcare centers, Head Start and Early Start programs, as well as licensed childcare providers. Also eligible will be classroom aides, bus drivers, administration staff, counselors, cafeteria workers and substitute teachers, the state said.

Teachers in Indiana are already eligible for vaccines at certain pharmacies in the federal program, including Kroger, Meijer, and Walmart.

Educators will join a group that already includes all Hoosiers 50 and older, front-line health care workers and first responders, plus a growing list of people with certain health conditions.

Indiana Gov. Holcomb said the eligibility list was being opened to educators earlier than expected at the direction of the federal government. He said adding that group to the list would delay the rollout to younger age groups than the state originally planned. Hoosiers 40-49 had been expected to be next on the list on an incremental basis.

Indiana began administering the vaccines in mid-December. The state said more than 744,000 Hoosiers had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Wednesday at 5 a.m. More than 1.17 million had received the first dose of a vaccination.

To schedule a vaccine through the state system, Hoosiers can visit https://ourshot.in.gov and select a location from one of more than 370 clinics around the state.

Specific groups of patients at highest risk of severe illness from COVID-19 who are identified by their health care provider are also eligible. These individuals can receive a unique registration link by text or email, or may call 211 after receiving the notification. The list of those health conditions can be found here.

People 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 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.