‘NOT OUT OF THE WOODS’
In 30 days, 3% of NWI residents have received first shot
“We do have to, at some point, start to transition back to some of the normal ways of living that we once enjoyed with indoor service.”
— The Rev. Corey Jackson
Even before the COVID-19 vaccine came out, the Rev. Corey Jackson signed up for a research trial so he could tell his congregation what it was like.
“I knew some of my seniors were skeptical,” he said, taking part in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine trial done through the Department of Veterans Affairs. “I had already done it. I could tell them, ‘This is how it felt.’ ”
Now that those 70 and older can register in Indiana for the vaccine, Jackson’s New Shiloh Baptist Church, 1727 W. 15th Ave., Gary, has plans to go back to indoor services starting the first Sunday in March, he said.
Since the pandemic first hit, the church moved sermons to the parking lot to meet social distancing rules.
“We are hoping by then the majority of seniors will have been vaccinated,” Jackson said.
They have reached out to members, who can call the church with a volunteer helping them get registered for the vaccine online.
“What we do realize is that COVID is not going away,” he said. “We do have to, at some point, start to transition back to some of the normal ways of living that we once enjoyed with indoor service.”
Masks, marked seat spacing and temperature checks will still be required.
“We’re really hoping that, at that point, that people will be honest if they’ve been vaccinated or not,” Jackson said.
As Lake County approaches 44,000 cases and more than 660 dead with 14,000 cases and more than 200 dead in Porter, health officials are hoping the vaccine rollout will be the slow start of the pandemic’s end.
Since Dec. 15, more than 19,000 people, or 3%, have gotten their first dose, nearly 13,700 in Lake, 5,500 in Porter. About 4,800 in both counties have received both doses. By comparison, across Indiana, almost 260,000 have gotten their first shot, with 53,000 fully vaccinated.
“We’re not out of the woods,” said Thomas J. Duszynski, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health Director of Epidemiology Education at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
Those who get the vaccine still initially need to wear a mask, because it’s not known if they can still spread the virus, he said. Initial interest in the vaccine from older people has been strong, officials said.
So far, at least 100,000 Indiana residents 80 and up, or nearly 40%, have signed up since Jan. 8. Another 250,000 aged 70 and older, or 53%, have registered in just over the first day starting Jan. 13, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
Those numbers are gratifying to public health officials, worried about vaccine skepticism. The question is if there will be enough supply over time and people to give shots, he said.
The Lake County Health Department is looking for volunteers for its vaccine site at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Crown Point — both for registration (anyone with a high school degree) and qualified nurses, retired nurses, medical assistants, LPNs, EMTs, pharmacy techs or pharmacy students who can vaccinate.
Volunteers are asked to commit to at least four weeks at a time and can choose between shifts from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., or 1-6 p.m., Dr. Chandana Vavilala, Lake County health officer, said.
The Health Department plans to open a second vaccination site at Wicker Park in
Highland possibly in a “few weeks” depending on vaccine supply and staffing, she said. It received 800 doses the first week, with another 1,000 anticipated the following week. They hope to increase that over time.
At the Gary Health Department, 60 vaccinations were administered the first day and are booked out until Indiana opens new slots, Health Commissioner Roland Walker said Thursday. They are getting about 200 doses each week of the Moderna vaccine for EMTs and the elderly.
New daily cases have dropped to about 30, from 50 in November and December. Some may be to city restrictions on bars and nightclubs, he said.
Some teachers, especially in their 50s and 60s, have contacted the health department, asking how they can get vaccinated, he said.
“They were not pro-vaccine a few weeks ago. Now with the prospect of the vaccine being out there, hearing that they’re going to be back in person,” Walker said. “I’m very surprised how quickly people have changed their opinion of the vaccine.”
The Gary Community School Corp. canceled its planned return to school Jan. 19 after only 46% of parents opted for it. Emergency Manager Paige McNulty said she’s hoping that teachers will be vaccinated within the next 30 days. She said school nurses have already been vaccinated.
The vaccine’s U.S. rollout has been uneven, with stories of hospitals offering the vaccine to all workers, even younger ones who don’t interact with patients. Or nursing home staffers and some health care workers who have declined.
Others are still skeptical.
“All you can do is provide them the science, and they will have to make their own decisions,” Duszynski said.
Indiana is expected to open eligibility to those in their 60s, but the timing is unclear.
Questions have arisen when workers at risk like grocery store workers, or teachers would be eligible. Some teachers including in Evansville have started getting vaccinated after local hospitals or county health departments had leftover doses, according to media reports.
When asked, Indiana Chief Medical Officer Lindsay Weaver said Indiana was officially sticking with its per-age eligibility, because older people had the highest risk of death and hospitalization regardless of their exposure risk.
Both Gary and Lake County said they didn’t have surplus vaccines, but hoped eligibility could expand as soon as possible.
“I think it is going to smooth out over time,” Duszynski said.