A few months after the first COVID-19 vaccines became available in Indiana, state officials announced an impressive figure.
Of the more than 1.3 million doses shipped to the state by mid-February, only 172 had gone to waste. That meant Hoosiers were lining up for a vaccine they believed could end the pandemic and allow the world to return to some semblance of normalcy.
But things have changed.
The seven-day average of statewide vaccinations began plummeting this spring and has largely stagnated since. That has caused a surge in the number of unused COVID vaccines. Even as the delta variant blankets the country, killing people and putting others in the hospital, Indiana has seen about 62,000 doses go to waste since Jan. 1.
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“A dose of vaccine may go unused for a number of reasons, including a vial breaking or becoming outdated,” Indiana State Department of Health spokesperson Megan Wade-Taxter told the Courier & Press. “Throughout the vaccine effort, we have encouraged providers to use (soon-to-expire) vaccine first to minimize wastage.
“However, as demand for vaccine has waned, the number of unused doses has increased.”
COVID Vaccine demand increasing in Evansville area
The problem has been even worse in other states.
In early August, the New York Times reported that Georgia had seen more than 110,000 doses land in the trash. And Arkansas lost a third of its vaccine stockpile when 90,000 Pfizer doses expired at the end of July.
More: Where COVID-19 vaccination rates stand in Evansville, Henderson and neighboring counties
But with the delta variant's arrival, demand is finally starting to increase again – including in the Evansville area.
Deaconess clinics have seen significant jumps in the number of COVID vaccinations recently, pharmacy services line manager Brian Spencer said.
Between June 20 and July 11, Deaconess vaccination sites were handing out about 239 inoculations a week. But from July 18 to Aug. 8, that figure almost doubled to 450: an 88 percent increase.
More: Almost 100% of Vanderburgh COVID cases, deaths, hospitalizations among unvaccinated, data shows
It comes as infections balloon in Southwestern Indiana.
Vanderburgh County has seen at least six weeks of steady increases, local health department director Joe Gries said Tuesday, with daily case counts flirting with the grim records we set this winter. Warrick, Posey, Spencer and Dubois counties have all gone into the “red” on the state’s COVID map, and Vanderburgh is close to doing the same.
Delta has caused an uptick in breakthrough infections among the vaccinated, but the unvaccinated make up the vast majority of the area’s hospitalized COVID patients. And the shots overwhelmingly protect you from serious illness or death, Deaconess president Dr. James Porter has repeatedly said.
Still, some are still hesitant. A major reason for that, Gries said, is misinformation.
More: COVID-19 hospitalizations and positive tests skewing younger, Deaconess says
During a presentation at Tuesday’s Vanderburgh County Commissioners meeting, he shot down numerous conspiracy theories and implored residents to seek out reliable sources of information, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others.
“If you’re on social media, or if you’re listening to less-than-reputable sources, it’s not quality information,” he said.