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First Doses of COVID-19 Vaccine Arrive in Indiana
By: Colin Meadowcroft - Tuesday, December 15, 2020

The Indiana Department of Health announced yesterday that the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to frontline healthcare workers in Indiana after the state’s first allotment of vaccine arrived Monday morning.

The first doses were administered to a physician, nurse, respiratory therapist, pharmacist, patient care tech, and environmental services tech at Parkview Health in Fort Wayne shortly after noon on Monday. Parkview and Clark Memorial Hospital in Jeffersonville both received initial doses of a vaccine Monday morning. The two are among the five pilot hospitals slated to receive vaccines first. Additional vaccine is expected to arrive at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, IU Methodist in Indianapolis
and Community Hospital in Munster in the next few days.

More than 20,000 Indiana healthcare workers statewide have already registered to get their first dose. More than 50 Indiana hospitals and clinics are expected to receive a total of 55,575 doses of vaccine by the end of the week, and additional shipments are expected weekly. The vaccine requires two doses administered a minimum of 21 to 28 days apart.

Because vaccines will be shipped to states in phases, Indiana has prioritized the first doses for frontline healthcare workers who provide direct patient care and therefore are at high risk of exposure to COVID-19, as well as long-term care residents and staff who have been significantly impacted by the pandemic.

Dr. Lindsay Weaver, chief medical officer for the Indiana Department of Health, said Indiana will open the vaccine to additional groups as more shipments are received. She encouraged Hoosiers to begin preparing for when vaccines are widely available.

Half of the state’s COVID-related deaths have occurred among residents of long-term care facilities.



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