Indiana lowers age eligibility for COVID-19 vaccine to 65 and older

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The Indiana Department of Health on Monday said residents age 65 and older can now schedule COVID-19 vaccinations.

Vaccinations had been limited to those 70 and older since Jan. 13 as part of the vaccine rollout to the general public. The state started offering vaccines to the general public Jan. 8 with the 80-and-older age bracket.

The state’s vaccination effort originally started in mid-December, beginning with health care workers and then residents of long-term-care facilities.

The vaccine is available at no cost, and appointments can be made by visiting this site. Family members can register for a senior. Hoosiers can also register by calling 2-1-1 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.

Other age groups will follow in descending order in the future.

As of 5 a.m. Sunday, more than 143,000 Hoosiers had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 562,000 had received the first dose of a vaccination.

Vaccine supply remains limited nationally. Indiana said it has “adopted an age-based approach to expanding vaccine eligibility in order to fulfill its goals of reducing hospitalizations, saving lives and protecting vulnerable populations.”

Hoosiers age 60 and older make up 22.5 percent of the population but account for 64.1 percent of hospitalizations and 93.3 percent of COVID-19 deaths.

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9 thoughts on “Indiana lowers age eligibility for COVID-19 vaccine to 65 and older

  1. Really have to act fast on scheduling. I got on the site at 10AM and had a 30 minute wait, first available was in March in my area. Not complaining at all, just stating the obvious that it’s going to take time and patience for everyone who wants to get vaccinated to get their shot.

    1. If you don’t mind a drive, the Neuroscience Center at Methodist has a lot of openings. Got in almost immediately today.

    1. Once the elderly is vaccinated, they should just open it for everyone. We should have plenty of vaccines by then and every vaccinated person makes everybody safer. Open the floodgates.

  2. If the state’s goal is to “adopt(ed) an age-based approach to expanding vaccine eligibility in order to fulfill its goals of reducing hospitalizations, saving lives and protecting vulnerable populations.”, then why not include those with multiple co-morbidities?

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