From quarantines to vaccines, reflecting on a year with COVID-19
March 6 marks one year since the first case of COVID-19 was identified in the State of Indiana. a lot has happened over the past several months. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina box recently reflected on how far things have come since the first case was recorded in March of last year.
She noted, “It’s been a year of trials and heartbreak for so many Hoosiers but it’s also been a year that has shown us how resilient and how resourceful we can be as a state.”
Dr. box explained that year ago, there was no testing system in place for COVID-19, “We built that from scratch and now have nearly 300 testing sites across the State of Indiana, having done more than eight million tests for more than three million Hoosiers.”
The State Health Commissioner also noted that in March of 2020, state health officials had limited access to testing supplies and relied heavily on their partners at Eli Lilly for running tests when the effects of the pandemic were first being felt in Indiana. She shared, “I know, without a doubt, that we would not be where we are today if we hadn’t had that incredible partnership set up during our time of need.”
Testing capacity has increased from then to now, with Dr. box stating that there are ten labs within the Indiana Lab Testing Network as well as 2,300 labs that
“We’ve also been reminded that pandemics are hard to defeat, that viruses mutate and present many challenges just when we think the worst is behind us and that even positive trends like those that we have seen in recent weeks don’t signal that we’re out of the woods and that life could return to pre-pandemic normalcy.”
-Dr. Kristina Box
are reporting results to the Indiana Department of Health.
box extended her gratitude to the individuals working in the health field who have been on the frontline since the beginning, “Local health departments and hospitals have stepped up in incredible ways and we cannot thank them enough.”
She added that a year ago, there was no COVID-19 vaccine and stated that if asked at that time if she was hope
ful about having one in the near future, she stated she would have been somewhat pessimistic about. However, she was pleased to report that not just one, but multiple vaccine options are now available.
“Today, we have three vaccines available and we’ve vaccinated more than one million Hoosiers!”
Dr. Box concluded her statements about the events that occurred since March of 2020 by discussing some important takeaways.
“We’ve learned a lot of lessons this past year about the importance of training and of preparation, of pivoting quickly when new information emerges, of working as a team, not in silos and not being afraid to ask for help when we’ve needed it.”
She continued, “We’ve also been reminded that pandemics are hard to defeat, that viruses mutate and present many challenges just when we think the worst is behind us and that even positive trends like those that we have seen in recent weeks don’t signal that we’re out of the woods and that life could return to pre-pandemic normalcy.”
Though the Indiana Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard and weekly metrics maps have been reflecting data that’s trending in a good direction, Dr. Box emphasized that it is not time to abandoned precautions, especially with more virus variants popping up. She stressed that it’s still vital for individuals to practice social distancing, wear masks when around others, and wash hands regularly. She also encouraged all eligible Hoosiers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.
For additional information visit coronavirus.in.gov.