Hoosiers at the younger end of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine eligibility range are not signing up as quickly as older residents. During Wednesday’s COVID-19 press conference, State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box said her department continues to work with populations where there’s been a lot of vaccine hesitancy.
“Some of that may be not just our minority populations,” Box explained. “It could be rural populations. It could be our younger population that really hasn’t seen the severe consequences.”
But Governor Eric Holcomb noted that while the state continues to do outreach, word of mouth can be even more powerful. “Having a peer of yours testify to the fact that they had it, had zero side effects, and this is just a bit of insurance is very persuasive,” Holcomb said.
Box said her main message is that the vaccine is how we get to where we need to be in the future. “One of our comms people who’s been such an incredible help to us shared with me that she was in a restaurant, and she saw four elderly people come together – it was two couples – and they were celebrating, basically, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, every single holiday that they had missed celebrating together. And it really just brings tears to your eyes to know that people can go back now and do those things that you want to do,” Box said.
State officials are also working to make it easier to get the vaccine. Indiana Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lindsay Weaver said more mass vaccination events are planned when more vaccine becomes available, and mobile units will start vaccinating residents in Elkhart, Tippecanoe, and Floyd counties next week.
