INDIANA, USA — Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Wednesday the COVID-19 vaccine is now open to Hoosiers 50 and older.
Just one day prior, the state announced that residents 55 and older were eligible for the vaccine.
Hoosiers age 50 and older account for 35.3% of all Hoosiers, but state officials said they represent 80% of COVID-19 hospitalization and 98% of all COVID-19 deaths.
As the vaccines become more available, the next group to be vaccinated is those aged 40 and over. Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box says she expects that to happen in mid to late March.
"March will be a key month for most of the country, but especially in Indiana with the rate we are going," Holcomb said.
Since last week, more than 110,000 people have received the first dose of the vaccine. Indiana State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box said the state is making steady improvements in getting the vaccine to more people.
Additionally, the state's positivity rate is now at 3.5%, the lowest since late September 2020.
Box said there are still approximately 300 testing sites around the state, despite the declining number of cases. Testing sites will remain important given the arise of new variants of the virus.
The state has been told not to expect additional doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine over the next three weeks, meaning the state will depend on the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine after the initial shipment of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Southern Indiana health officials said this week's vaccine expansion seems almost ahead of schedule.
"It almost does. I can't believe we're already down to the 50s," Lance Ballard, the director of pharmacy for Clark Memorial said. "I think we're going to see increased interest and increased volume at our clinic."
Ballard said the hospital's vaccine program has stayed on track with supply, giving out 3,300 doses per week.
Brian Cox with Baptist Health Floyd said the age change also helps drive vaccine appointments slots to fill up faster.
"The more people we have eligible to get vaccinated the more we can ensure we get those appoints filled and we make sure were getting all the vaccine used as quickly as possible," Cox said.
With Indiana receiving 54,000 doses of the newly-approved Johnson and Johnson vaccine this week, the state is opening up three mass vaccination sites, including one in Southern Indiana at Ivy Tech Sellersburg March 12 and 13.
"The best vaccine is the one you can get," Cox said. "Get one as quickly as you can. Don't worry so much about is one better than another one."
Both Cox and Ballard said if the time comes, they would like to implement the Johnson and Johnson vaccine for different purposes.
"We're thinking it might have a place in therapy for our in-patients that are being discharged when they're going home and also those folks that come through our emergency department," Ballard said.
With multiple vaccine options and expanded eligibility, both encourage everyone to get whichever one they can, when it's their turn.
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