Indiana teachers will be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine at any vaccination site in the state starting Monday. It’s been available to educators at pharmacies taking part in the federal vaccination program for the past few days.
Indiana Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lindsay Weaver announced the expansion to the rest of the state’s vaccination sites during Wednesday’s COVID-19 press conference. “The list is defined by the CDC and includes teachers and staff in pre-k through high school, childcare centers, Head Start and Early Start programs, licensed childcare providers, including center-based and family care providers, classroom aides, bus drivers, janitors, counselors, administration staff, cafeteria workers, and substitute teachers,” Weaver explained.
While CDC guidelines have prioritized educators for months, Indiana had generally been sticking to an age-based vaccine rollout. As for why the change is being made now, Governor Eric Holcomb said the state was forced to deviate from its plan by the federal government. “That will have an impact on getting to that list of folks with co-morbidities,” Holcomb said. “We were using data to drive all our decisions about those who were most at risk. The administration, our federal partners, have said, ‘You need to add in to any site,’ and so we will do that.”
The Indiana Department of Health has also expanded the list of underlying health conditions that would allow someone younger than 50 to get the vaccine. “Those include Hoosiers with intellectual or developmental disabilities who are receiving home or community-based services, early childhood conditions that are carried into adulthood, including cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, people born with severe heart defects that require specialized medical care, PKU, Tay-Sachs, and other rare inherited metabolic disorders,” Weaver said.
Hoosiers with severe epilepsy, severe asthma, cerebral palsy, a compromised immune system, and those requiring supplemental oxygen may also be eligible. They’ll get a special link to sign up from the Indiana Department of Health or will get help registering from the Family and Social Services Administration. If you think you may qualify but haven’t been notified, contact your health care provider.
