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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowNo matter how Gov. Eric Holcomb rolled out COVID-19 vaccines across Indiana, there was bound to be criticism. But, so far, his age-based eligibility requirements and the state system developed to deliver the vaccinations have proven effective.
Indiana ranks eighth among states in terms of its percentage of vaccine supply administered to patients, according to data tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and reported by Becker’s Hospital Review.
Indiana delivered nearly 1.9 million inoculations of the 2.2 million doses it had received as of March 8, for a rate of 85%. While that’s a bit off Wisconsin’s lead pace of nearly 94%, it’s certainly much better than the 68% reported by last-place Kansas.
As of March 9, 724,587 Hoosiers had been fully vaccinated, with nearly 1.2 million having had a first dose of a vaccine, state officials said. That means about one in five Indiana adults are at least partially vaccinated.
When put in those terms, it’s hard to argue with Indiana’s numbers. That’s why we applaud the course the governor has charted.
Of course, there’s still a long way to go before we can fully assess the state’s performance and finally, hopefully, thankfully put a stranglehold on this wretched pandemic that has claimed more than 12,000 Hoosier lives.
But there’s little doubt the state is on the right course.
Issue certainly could be taken with Holcomb’s reluctance to put teachers toward the front of the line. But the federal government has helped to address this by making educators eligible for vaccines at pharmacies participating in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program.
There were countless other conditions and circumstances the governor—and the advisory groups he put in place to help him—had to take into account to form the state’s vaccine strategy. Strong arguments also could be made that other public-facing workers, such as waiters or store clerks, should have been prioritized. So, too, could the state have focused first on people at risk because of specific comorbidities.
Some states opted to develop their vaccine strategies around those different priorities. And it will be important for researchers to evaluate the impacts to help policymakers with similar decisions in the future.
But we support the decisions Holcomb has made for Indiana.
By sticking largely with his age-based rollout, the governor has been able to get the vaccine to older Hoosiers most at risk and quickly lower age requirements so that more and more residents can get the vaccine.
Last week, Hoosiers ages 50 to 54 won the right to sign up for the shots. Teachers will be eligible for state vaccines Monday. Those 40 and up are likely to be next. And if you haven’t been tapped yet to take your turn, all indications are that it will come soon.
For that, you can thank Holcomb and all the tireless health care workers giving shots across the state.•
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