As the United States’ vaccine rollout continues to get more shots in the arms of Americans, where can you go to receive your vaccination once you become eligible?
Beginning back in mid-January, the Monroe Co. Convention Center has served as one of the primary vaccination centers for residents in and around Bloomington to receive their vaccination.
“We’ve been very lucky with this space,” Monroe Co. health administrator Penny Caudill said. “The convention center donated it to us. It works very well for what we have.”
At the moment, the convention center receives 800 doses of the Moderna vaccine from the state each week. But the center isn’t the first stop the Moderna vaccine vials arrive at when entering Bloomington— they are initially shipped to the Monroe Co. Public Health Clinic and stored in a freezer.
“When it [the vaccine] leaves the freezer, it can go to the refrigerator for 30 days,” clinical manager and registered nurse Amy Meek said. “Once it comes out of the refrigerator, it has to be used within 12 hours. So we bring it here refrigerated. We have refrigerated coolers we transport it over in. That way we don’t take more vaccine out of the fridge than what we need.”
Vaccination appointments are conducted on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Staff is entirely voluntary, including a mix of nurses and medical students helping out with the vaccine efforts.
Caudill estimates that about 30 vaccinations are given each hour, with anywhere from 650-730 appointments scheduled for those who are eligible each week.
In this video, Caudill describes the plans for future distribution and clinics receiving vaccines for COVID-19.
The eligibility age requirements for Hoosiers to get their vaccine continues to drop, with the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) announcing all Indiana residents ages 50 or older can schedule their vaccination appointment.
This isn’t the only encouraging news with the vaccination efforts in the United States this week. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden cited in an address that there will be enough vaccine supply for every American adult to receive their dose(s) by the end of May.
And lastly, a third vaccine, this time from Johnson & Johnson, has been approved for use in the United States. Approximately four million doses will be shipped to various vaccination clinics across the country.
This vaccine will be available at three mass vaccination sites:
- Compton Ice Area (University of Notre Dame)
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Ivy Tech Community College (Sellersburg, Ind.)
This specific vaccine is expected to be available at other clinics in the state as well, but plans for distribution outside of the three primary mass vaccination sites have not been announced.
“There’s been tears of joy from a lot of the healthcare workers in particular when they got vaccinated,” Meek said. “People who’ve been working this battle since last year, this is the light at the end of the tunnel. So this is the work we’ve been excited to get to do.
It’s not just healthcare workers that see the “light” at the end of the world’s fight against COVID-19.
In this video, Meek explains what a drive-thru clinic might look like once COVID-19 vaccine expansion takes place later this year.
Iva Goss, 79, came to the Monroe Co. Convention Center from Martinsville (〜20 miles) to receive her second dose of the Moderna vaccine.
“It was a relief. It made me feel a little safer [to get vaccinated],” Goss said. “I just wish we could get rid of these masks so we can just go anywhere. At least it made me feel a little safer like maybe I won’t get it.”
As for talks of expansion, Caudill says that the county health department is in discussion with Indiana University on opening a vaccination clinic on its campus. It is unclear how long the clinic will be open at the convention center before expanding to a new location.
“They’ve indicated that they are willing to be a public site. We think about the universities and schools sometimes being closed pods. They take care of their own,” Caudill said. “But IU’s indicated a willingness to be a public site, so we are having those conversations trying to figure out what that would look like.”
In addition to the potential addition of a vaccine clinic at IU, health officials in Monroe Co. are planning on operating drive-thru vaccination clinics once the weather begins to heat up.
“We’ve practiced this with flu shots several times,” Meek said on vaccinating people using a drive-thru operation. “We practice for this all the time in case they ever have to implement it. We’ll get a chance to implement it for a bigger purpose this time.”
Meek added that those receiving an injection will have to wait 15 minutes in their car in a parking lot before driving away to monitor any possible reactions an individual may have from the vaccine. Currently, there is a waiting room for vaccinated people to sit in before exiting the convention center after 15 minutes.
Many individuals in Monroe Co. have done more waiting than 15 minutes to receive their COVID-19 vaccination.
In this video, Hewett discusses how the COVID-19 vaccine waitlist works for being able to receive a shot.
Kathy Hewett, the lead health educator for the Monroe Co. health department, said near the end of February, there were approximately 1,400 names on the vaccine waitlist. Any person, regardless of age, can sign up for the waitlist. However, it is extremely unlikely younger individuals will be called to receive their vaccination.
“There are a lot of people who sign up, but we can only give them that waitlist to that vaccine to those who are eligible,” Hewett said. “You’ve got a small chance if you are in your 30s, you’ve got a long way to wait.”
To find out more information on COVID-19 and to schedule your vaccination appointment in Indiana, click here or dial 211.
