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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana continues to lag most of the nation in the percentage of people who are fully vaccinated, despite high-profile efforts by the state to roll out mass vaccination clinics and offering same-day, walk-in or drive-in shots.
The Hoosier state ranked 45th among all states, with just 25.4% of residents aged 16 and older fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s data tracker, as of Tuesday morning.
Indiana health officials on Wednesday urged Hoosiers to get vaccinated, pointing out that hospitalizations from COVID-19 have climbed 50% since late March, to 955 patients as of Monday.
The demand for vaccines in Indiana has leveled off in recent weeks, despite the push to get more of the population vaccinated.
State officials sent out a phone alert similar to an Amber alert on Tuesday to remind people to get vaccinated, and to let them know that slots were available without appointment this week at a drive-in, mass vaccination at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“Hoosiers, COVID is still here and it is not going away any time soon,” Dr. Kris Box, Indiana health commissioner, said Wednesday during a press conference. “Please stay vigilant. Please don’t let your guard down.”
State officials did not speculate as to why Indiana ranks so low among states, despite numerous mass vaccination clinics and more than 400 sites across the state offering vaccines, even when asked directly during the press conference.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to get vaccine out, to look at different avenues, to continue the conversation, to continue the education,” said Dr. Lindsay Weaver, chief medical officer at the state health department. “The bottom line is we have a lot of work to do.”
Box said a big challenge is the low percentage of people in rural counties that are getting vaccinated. She said the state is working with the Indiana Rural Health Association, the Purdue Extension and the Indiana Farm Bureau to try to increase the rate.
As of Wednesday, nearly 1.8 million Hoosiers, or 33% of people aged 16 and older, are fully vaccinated, state officials said. That figure is higher than the 1.7 million people, or 25.4% of the eligible population, reported Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control.
The number of people hospitalized from COVID-19, while climbing in recent weeks, is still significantly lower than the 3,500 people who were hospitalized from COVID-19 in late November.
But health officials said they were concerned that the growing number of variants in Indiana could take their toll with more hospitalizations and deaths.
Weaver asked people to encourage their friends and neighbors to get vaccinated.
“It’s all of our individual responsibilities to talk to others, encourage others,” she said. “I know people at small dinner parties that have convinced other people to go ahead and get vaccinated.”
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Could announce that ICU’s will only offer COVID treatment to breakthrough patients or those not eligible for the vaccine as of June 1st… I’m 85% kidding.
Why the huge difference in vax numbers from the State and CDC?
It does not surprise me one bit that rural America is shunning the vaccine…..just as they did masks and social distancing.
At some point, I think you just have to let people deal with the consequences of their actions once they’ve chosen not to get vaccinated. If you make the choice to listen to Joe Rogan instead of Dr. Fauci, hey, deal with it. Enjoy your expensive medical bills since you passed on a free vaccine.
It is not just the rural areas where a low percentage of people are getting vaccinated. Marion County only has 39.4% of eligible residents who have received their first dose whereas surrounding counties such as Boone (57.7%), Hamilton (58.1%), Hendricks (56.4%) and Hancock (55.4%) are doing much better. Given the population of Marion county, any efforts to increase vaccination rates there will have a significant impact on the overall state numbers.
It’s sad that vaccines have become a political issue. Welcome to the land of Republicans.
It is disgraceful that Marion County participation in vaccination lags the region. But it is what it is.
In some measure, the Hogsett/Caine behavior regulations are to blame because it communicates (1) that there is no reward for being vaccinated …. no person who has been vaccinated should be wearing a mask, period; and (2) ongoing behavior regulation gives people the false sense of security from the virus.
It is time to completely end behavior regulation. The reign of fearmongering needs to be ended. EVERYONE has been given an opportunity to be immune to Covid via vaccine. If people are stupid and wish to risk infection, that’s their choice. Government should not use power to protect the stupid; indeed there is no way for government to protect the stupid short of physical force that is inconceivable — so far — in our country.
Third party payers — Insurance, Medicare, Medicaid — should be legally empowered to refuse to reimburse any cost for Covid infection for anyone choosing no vaccine (the rest of us should not have to pay for them).
Except for politicians hoping to get credit for virtue signaling — which is craven — logic requires that ALL behavior regulation be dropped immediately. The government’s authority to order social distancing or wear masks is illegitimate once the individual opportunity to avoid infection is universal. Except for the 1 in 13,276 — 75 then thousandths of 1 percent — chance of a “breakthrough” infection of a vaccinated person, EVERYONE has had the opportunity to avoid infection. A “breakthrough infection” for vaccinated people is 4 times LESS likely than the odds of being struck by lightening in the course of a lifetime; public health officials who use this instance as a basis for caution should be removed from office. Shame on the public for being so ill-informed that these egomaniacs are still scaring them, but health professionals who tell vaccinated people that they are at risk of infection are completely irresponsible. By their logic, no person should ever ride in a car or even leave their bed.
Announce today that all behavior regulation will end in 3 weeks — the time it takes for a vaccination regimen to be effective. Then be done with the whole thing.
btw, these are 2 dif “Mark L’s”
The land of Lugar Republicans would be the best of all places to live, as it was for many years in Indiana — rid of the two plagues on our democracy, Trump Republicans and Progressive Democrats!