In January 2020, the first cases of what would become known as COVID-19 were verified in Wuhan, China. At the time, the novel coronavirus was a concern, but seemed to be isolated. Jump forward to March of 2020, and the world went on red alert as the virus was detected in every nation, and was seen as a particular threat to the elderly and people with underlying health conditions.
Going into the third year of this pandemic, despite at least three effective vaccines and a swift development of anti-virals, it appears that COVID-19 continues its march through the population. Restrictions on public gatherings have been lifted in Indiana, and mask mandates are limited — and almost unenforceable. The state is no longer requiring K-12 schools to have any COVID-19 precautions or restrictions in place, although most have protocols to keep students and staff as safe as possible.
Starting January 19, the federal government will provide at home COVID-19 tests free of charge via the Web site COVIDTests.gov. The tests will ship with 7-12 days of ordering and will arrive via the post office. There is a limit of four tests per address. The government has also forced private health insurers to cover the cost of in-home tests for clients.
Testing is a vital part of keeping the virus in check, but there is currently a shortage of in-home tests available to the general public. Earlier, the Marion County Department of Health provided free in-home tests for individuals in certain zip codes, but due to a shortage, the department no longer provides these tests. In addition, local pharmacies and big box stores have sold out of test kits. In-person rapid testing at clinic sites is now only available to anyone age 18 and younger or symptomatic people age 50 and older due to limited supplies. PCR tests with results in 2-3 days are available for everyone, regardless of age or symptoms. If you need to schedule an appointment for a test in order to return to work or school, community test sites are available. Visit coronavirus.in.gov to schedule a nearby appointment. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway offers rapid tests from noon-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturdays for walk-ins (no appointment necessary).
The delta variant of COVID-19 has been detected in over 56% of samples the Indiana Dept. of Health has collected so far this month, and omicron variant is showing up in almost 44% so far. The shift in variants has been dramatic, with omicron showing up 43% more this month than last month. The World Health Organization has stated that the omicron variant, due to its rapid spread is “life-threatening” for the unvaccinated, elderly, and those with underlying health conditions.
Unvaccinated individuals who have contracted COVID-19 are beginning to truly stress the health care system, with less than 10% of statewide ICU beds now available. About 38% of ICU beds are being filled with COVID-19 patients. A total of 19,491 Hoosiers have died from COVID since March 16, 2020. For scale, that is nearly the entire population of Shelbyville.
The numbers have shown very clearly that fully vaccinated individuals are far less likely to contract COVID-19, and if they do, are less likely to require hospitalization or suffer serious illness. To date, only 52.5% of Hoosiers are fully vaccinated, compared with about 64% of Americans overall. Unvaccinated individuals ages 50-64 are 16 times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated people. For 18-49 year olds, they are 17 times more likely to be hospitalized than those who are fully vaccinated. Worse, unvaccinated persons are 14 times more likely to die from the disease than fully vaccinated people. (Centers for Disease Control)
All Hoosiers 5 and older are eligible for a free vaccine. Appointments can be made by visiting OurShotIN.gov or by calling 211.
