COVID vaccinations begin here - Corydon Democrat

Harrison County Commissioner Charlie Crawford is given his first round of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine Monday afternoon by Theresa Buechele at the Harrison County Health Dept. Photo by Kaitlyn Clay

Kaitlyn Clay, Staff Writer, [email protected]

This week, Harrison County has started to give the first round of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to those eligible and by appointment only.

Harrison County Health Dept. administrator Carrie Herthel explained at a special commissioners’ meeting last Wednesday that those working in health care, first responders, long-term health care staff, funeral home employees and those older than 80 are the people who qualify for the first round of the vaccines.

The county health department received 150 doses of the vaccine to give out this week.

A total of 33,500 Hoosiers age 80 or older throughout the state registered for free COVID-19 vaccines between 9 and 11:30 a.m. Friday, the first day of eligibility for this age group. And by late Saturday afternoon, that number rose to more than 75,000 people.

Elderly Hoosiers can continue to register online at https://ourshot.in.gov or by calling 211. A caregiver or loved one also may make an appointment on behalf of an eligible senior.

Herthel advised that employers and those in charge of licensing will contact those who work in career fields that qualify them for the vaccine. However, if someone believes they qualify and have not been contacted, they are encouraged to reach out to the health department, she said.

The health department is excited to be finally receiving the vaccine, according to Herthel, as she said it can’t come soon enough due to the increase in positive case numbers in the area.

Last Wednesday, Harrison County moved into the red zone of the Indiana State Dept. of Health’s COVID-19 color-coded county map. The map measures weekly cases per 100,000 residents and the seven-day positivity rate for all tests completed. Each county is assigned a color based on the average of scores for the two metrics, with them increasing in severity from blue to yellow to orange to red.

Harrison County has a point score of 3.0, which signifies a high positivity rate and community spread.

Under the red zone requirements, which will remain in effect until the metric has returned to orange or lower for two weeks, businesses and residents of the county will see changes in the following:

Limit social gatherings of any kind, indoor or outdoor, to 25 people.

Those in vulnerable populations should remain isolated.

All business capacity must adhere to strict social-distancing guidelines; curbside pickup is preferred.

Community recreational sports leagues and tournaments may continue with participants, required personnel and parents/guardians, and their minor children, only.

Senior center activities are suspended.

Hospitals, long-term care facilities and other congregate settings may impose visitation limits.

People are encouraged to reduce the number of people in common areas and break rooms at one time.

K-12 extracurricular activities may continue but attendance is limited to participants, support personnel and parent/guardians plus their minor children. All students and attendees must be social distanced and wear face coverings.

Since last week, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in Harrison County increased by 289, bringing the total to 3,112. A total of 15,581 tests have been performed, an increase of 607 from the previous week. The local health department noted that 40% of those who tested positive for the virus showed no symptoms.

Yesterday (Tuesday), the local health department reported an additional two deaths — an 81-year female and a 93-year-old male — from the virus. Both had underlying health conditions, according to the health department.

Statewide, an additional 439 deaths were reported, bringing the total to 8,731, plus two more clinical deaths, meaning the person likely had the virus at the time of their death but had not been tested, increasing the total to 373.

The number of tests performed in Indiana surpassed the six million mark since last week; the total was at 6,175,128 as of Sunday. The number of positive cases has reached 570,477, up 37,394 since last week.

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COVID vaccinations begin here - Corydon Democrat
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