One-third of qualified Indiana seniors have signed up for COVID-19 vaccine

At least one-third of Indiana seniors aged 80 and older have signed up to get their COVID-19 vaccine, since eligibility opened last week, officials said.

Indiana opened vaccine registration to those 80 and older Jan. 8. Since then, around 86,000 of an estimated 257,000 residents have signed up as of 3 p.m. Sunday, an Indiana State Department of Health spokesperson said in a release.

Those residents can call 2-1-1 or go to ourshot.in.gov to register.

More than 14,000 residents in Lake and Porter counties have gotten their first COVID-19 vaccine, a sign local distribution may be picking up.

That compares to 8,700 just last week, according to the Indiana State Department of Health. Between both counties, around 2% have gotten their initial dose, while over 2,700 are fully vaccinated with their second dose.

Across Indiana, 204,000 got their first dose, while 31,000 are fully vaccinated, according to Indiana’s online dashboard, updated Tuesday.

A more contagious variant of the coronavirus that was first identified in the United Kingdom late last year has been found in Indiana, state health officials announced Monday.

The Indiana State Department of Health said the variant was identified in the state through testing by the state agency’s laboratory and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but Monday’s announcement included no additional information on its discovery in Indiana.