In Boone County, at least three Kroger locations and the Meijer store in Whitestown are now administering COVID-19 vaccines, according to BCHD officials and pharmacists who work for the companies.
The Boone County Health Dept. and Witham Health Services are also administering COVID-19 vaccines.
The additional sites are part of a coordinated effort by state officials and private companies to open additional locations where Hoosiers can receive a COVID-19 vaccine as more doses become available and more residents are granted eligibility.
Kroger locations at 10679 N. Michigan Rd., in Zionsville, 5 Boone Village, in Zionsville, and 2420 N. Lebanon St., in Lebanon, offer COVID-19 vaccinations, pharmacists at the locations said. The Boone Village location is limited to administering 100 vaccine doses per week, and has filled all available appointments for the next two weeks. It was unclear how many doses other locations will receive each week. Those eligible can schedule an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine at a participating Kroger location by visiting kroger.com/covidvaccine.
The Whitestown Meijer location will provide vaccines when it receives doses from the Indiana Dept. of Health. For multiple weeks, the location has received vaccines and has been told to administer them in 48 hours, a pharmacist at the location said. It is unclear whether the location will continue to receive vaccine doses each week. The location is choosing eligible Hoosiers from those who register for a vaccine at clinic.meijer.com.
BCHD Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Tom Ryan said a Walmart location in Boone County plans to begin offering vaccines soon.
“Walmart will be using the same platform that the state is using for registering. Not sure how that is going to look yet, but (we) should be able to start getting those vaccines appointments,” Ryan said at the Boone County Commissioners’ Feb. 1 meeting.
In Indiana, all COVID-19 vaccines are free, though insurance information might be taken.
Hoosiers 65 and older, along with health care workers, long-term care residents and first responders who are regularly called to the scene of an emergency to render medical assistance, are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. To schedule an appointment, visit ourshot.in.gov or call 2-1-1.
As of Feb. 1, more than 7,000 Boone County residents have received a COVID-19 vaccine, Ryan said, which accounts for close to 10 percent of the county’s population. Each week, the county expects receive at least 1,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the state moving forward, he said.
“As more vaccine becomes available, more slots will open up for our site,” Ryan said of the BCHD’s site at the Farm Bureau Community Building at the Boone County 4-H Fairgrounds, at 1300 E. 100 S., in Lebanon. “We are working hard to make sure we have enough sites available in Boone County so that anybody who wants to get a vaccine should not have to wait months to get a vaccine.”
