If you are a Hoosier 45 or older, you are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Registration is available by calling 211 or visiting ourshot.in.gov. The vaccine also is available for health care workers, first responders and educators.
Schneck Medical Center continues to operate a vaccine clinic on the third floor of the Schneck Professional Building on the campus of the Seymour hospital, 411 W. Tipton St. It’s open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.
For those with insurance, there is no out-of-pocket cost to the individual. Those without insurance are provided the vaccine at no cost. Free parking is available in the hospital’s parking garage.
Photo identification and insurance information are required, and face masks must be worn during the appointment.
Since the clinic opened in late January, the Moderna two-dose vaccine has been administered.
During Monday night’s Schneck board of trustees meeting, President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Eric Fish said the hospital transitioned to the Pfizer two-dose vaccine earlier that day.
That move came after a recent talk with Dr. Kristina Box, the state’s health commissioner.
“Basically, the state asked, as they look to reallocate vaccines in different areas, if we would be interested in doing the Pfizer vaccine, which our response was ‘If that’s what the state needs, that’s what we’ll do,'” Fish said.
Those who have received their first dose of the Moderna vaccine at Schneck can still receive their second dose, Fish said.
Starting Monday, all first doses will be Pfizer for patients.
“A little more work on our staff managing both sides of that for the next 28 days, but that’s OK. We can do that,” Fish said.
He feels confident in his staff members because of the way they have stepped up to help operate the vaccine clinic.
“I think one of the great things about the entire vaccine clinic is it’s our own staff that are working and administering vaccines,” Fish said. “I think as we look at our mission to improve the health of the communities, it’s exactly what our staff is stepping up to do and live that mission. A lot of great work there with that. Hopefully, we continue on the path we’re on.”
He again praised Meghan Warren, director of care management at Schneck, and Justin Brown, director of pharmacy, for leading the initiative and making it a huge success.
As of Monday morning, 5,617 people had been vaccinated at the clinic, and zero doses have been wasted, Fish said.
“(They have) just absolutely done a great job,” Fish said. “I get daily comments from the community on how well it has been put together and how efficient it is.”
Fish also said Schneck recently received 200 doses of the Johnson and Johnson single-dose vaccine, and the Jackson County Health Department received 100 doses.
The 300 doses have been combined and will be available during a popup vaccination clinic from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Vallonia Elementary School gymnasium, 2459 W. Commerce St., Vallonia.
Individuals must meet eligibility provided by the ISDH and have an appointment to attend. Those 45 and up, health care workers, first responders and educators can schedule an appointment.
Upon entering your ZIP code on the registration website, you’ll see choices such as Schneck Medical Center, local health departments, some pharmacies, etc. If you’re interested in the one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine, select “Jackson Co HD Vallonia Sch JVAX” as your location.
The hospital and health department partnered with Brownstown Central Community School Corp. on the popup clinic since the school owns the gymnasium building.
Fish said he hopes to receive more doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine so they can conduct other clinics.
Another dose of good news delivered by Fish on Monday night was out of the previous five days, Schneck had three days with zero COVID-19 in-patients. On Monday, there also were none.
“We’ve always had a patient in the house since the 16th of July, so it has been a welcome sight for sure for our community, for our staff, for our patients,” he said.
Schneck continues to offer the Bamlanivimab and Regeneron monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-positive patients. Antibodies are proteins produced by the body’s immune system in response to antigens (harmful substances like viruses). Monoclonal antibodies are produced in the lab with cloned immune cells.
The treatment is intended to impact advancing illness in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization.
That has been available at Schneck since the first part of December 2020.
Stacy East, infection preventionist at Schneck, announced Tuesday that the hospital will be suspending its biweekly community COVID update calls due to low case numbers in Jackson County. They will resume again if case numbers increase.
On Tuesday, the state’s COVID-19 vaccination dashboard reported 7,799 or 17.6% of 44,231 Jackson County residents have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 6,028 or 13.6% of county residents have been fully vaccinated.
This is an increase of 114 county residents receiving their first dose since Monday. Fifty-three more have been fully vaccinated.
In Jackson County, 235 residents have received the Johnson and Johnson single-dose vaccine.
Since Dec. 14, 1,297,213 Hoosiers have received their first dose, while 852,183 are fully vaccinated. There have been 33,134 Hoosiers who have received the single-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
The Indiana State Department of Health announced Tuesday that 4,681 Jackson County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of one from Monday’s total.
The positivity rate for Jackson County is at 2.4%, a 0.3% increase from Monday’s 2.1%, according to the department’s COVID-19 dashboard.
No new deaths attributed to COVID-19 were reported in Jackson County on Tuesday, leaving the county’s death toll at 67.
There have been 51,336 COVID tests administered to 17,863 individuals in the county since March 18, 2020, an increase of 98 from Monday’s total.
The latest results are as of 11:59 p.m. Monday. The coronavirus dashboard is updated at noon daily.
On Tuesday, 568 additional Hoosiers across the state were diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at the ISDH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and private laboratories.
This brings the total number of Hoosiers known to have had the novel coronavirus to 673,528 following corrections to the previous day’s total.
The state’s total number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 is 12,466 with 12 new deaths being reported Tuesday.
For the state, a total of 8,483,858 tests have been administered, an increase of 17,647 from Monday’s total.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Schneck Medical Center COVID-19 vaccination clinic
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays
Where: Third floor of the Schneck Professional Building on the campus of Schneck Medical Center, 411 W. Tipton St., Seymour
Cost: For those with insurance, there is no out-of-pocket cost to the individual; those without insurance are provided the vaccine at no cost; free parking is available in the hospital’s parking garage, accessible by turning onto Pine Street off of West Tipton Street (U.S. 50)
What to bring: Photo identification and insurance information are required; face masks must be worn during the appointment
Register: Those desiring a vaccination must have a scheduled appointment by calling 211 or visiting ourshot.in.gov; at this time, Schneck is unable to vaccinate people on a drop-in basis
Information: Schneck COVID Hotline at 812-524-4266
[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
What: Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 single-dose vaccine popup clinic
When: 9 a.m. to noon Saturday (300 doses available)
Where: Vallonia Elementary School gymnasium, 2459 W. Commerce St., Vallonia
Who: Hoosiers age 45 and up, health care workers, first responders and educators can schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine; individuals must meet eligibility provided by the Indiana State Department of Health and have an appointment to attend
Cost: Free
Register: To schedule an appointment, call 211 or visit ourshot.in.gov
Information: coronavirus.in.gov
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