INDIANAPOLIS — Governor Eric J. Holcomb recently signed Executive Order 22-09 ending the public health emergency after signing HEA 1001 into law. The public health emergency has been in effect since March of 2020.
Recently, Indiana House members voted by a wide margin of 79-9 in favor of the bill even though the state Senate had removed provisions sought by House Republicans that would have forced businesses to give requested religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine requirements “without further inquiry.”
The bill includes legal changes sought by Holcomb that would enable the state to keep receiving about $40 million each month in enhanced federal funding for Medicaid and for about 200,000 households to continue receiving an additional $95 a month in federal food assistance. Another step would let the state health commissioner continue issuing a standing doctor’s order for the administration of COVID-19 vaccinations to children ages 5 to 11.