The Boone County Health Dept. is considering facilities for additional COVID-19 vaccination clinics as the county prepares to inoculate more residents as more vaccine doses becomes available.
The BCHD opened the county’s first clinic at the Boone County 4-H Fairgrounds Jan. 12, allowing nearly 600 residents receive their first of the two-dose vaccine in the clinic’s first week. BCHD Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Tom Ryan said the department plans to administer 1,100 immunizations next week.
“Another thing we are looking at is setting up another (COVID-19 vaccine clinic) location in Boone County,” Ryan said Jan. 19 during a county commissioners meeting.
Ryan said the county is coordinating with state health officials to establish an additional two-day vaccination clinic. Ryan told the commissioners state officials notified him that the clinic’s creation would depend on the success of rollouts of similar state-sponsored sites in other counties during the same week.
“It gives us a week or two to get prepared,” said Tom Santelli. president of the Board of Boone County Commissioners.
More vaccination sites will be needed as the state opens enrollment to more age groups and professions, according to health officials. As a result, county commissioners said it’s wise to continue searching for potential sites for additional clinics while they await word from state officials.
Currently, Hoosiers 70 and older, first responders, long-term care residents and health care workers are eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, and state health officials have signaled Hoosiers 60 to 69 will be the next eligible group.
Witham Health Services, in addition to the BCHD clinic at the county fairgrounds, is also administering COVID-19 vaccinations. The hospital, like the BCHD clinic, is receiving the Moderna vaccine, which requires two shots at least 28 days apart. It is also receiving shipments of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which requires two shots at least 21 days apart.
