Indianapolis -- Even as Indiana rolls out its first wave of vaccinations, state officials urged Hoosiers to continue socially distancing and wearing masks into the holidays to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Adding presumptive COVID-19 deaths, over 7,000 Hoosiers have died, and state health commissioner Dr. Kris Box asked that families gather virtually this year. Barring that, she said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had advised families to wear their masks indoors, socially distance and use hand sanitizer.
“I know this guidance is hard and yet another reminder of all that we have sacrificed in 2020 but I encourage you to get creative and think outside the box for your own family and for all those empty seats around the table this year,” Box said. Private gatherings, such as large family dinners, have continually ranked high in terms of exposure to COVID19 while bars, restaurants and gyms have only occasionally been identified.
“Certain things come up to the top of the list each time. Many times it is related to parties… celebrations like birthdays or weddings; it’s related to individuals at funerals, unfortunately,” Box said. “It really has been a lot of those private parties and even, unfortunately, churches where we have seen a lot of outbreaks.” To ease the burden on contact tracers, the state introduced an online survey which will be sent via text to those who test positive or those who were identified as close contacts.
“The one common denominator is it is occurring where we let our guard down… when we’re around people we know well,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said. “That’s why we’re just appealing you, especially during the holiday season, when we all want to get together with our families.”
Holcomb said he would get the vaccination but he didn’t qualify for the first round, which was reserved for healthcare workers and the most vulnerable Hoosiers in nursing homes.
“I will absolutely get the vaccination but it won’t be until… it’s my time,” Holcomb said.
With regulators expected to approve the Moderna vaccine this week, states will soon receive Moderna doses in addition to already allotted Pfizer doses. Indiana received 55,575 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and started vaccinating healthcare workers across the state this week.
The state didn’t share how many doses of the Moderna vaccine it anticipated, or whether it would get more Pfizer vaccine doses, because the numbers of doses allotted to states changes weekly and sometimes daily, Box said.
Over 46,000 healthcare workers had already registered to receive the vaccine, according to Lindsay Weaver, the chief medical officer for the state health department.
But the state will wait to identify the next round of eligible Hoosiers until officials hear what recommendations the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices advises at their scheduled meeting on Saturday. Weaver said the state would release a vaccine data dashboard within a few weeks. “We have months to go before the vaccine is widely available,” Weaver said. “I want to encourage you to start learning about it now.”
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