By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

INDIANAPOLIS — Hoosiers who are 80 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine beginning Friday.

That announcement was made during Gov. Eric Holcomb’s weekly COVID-19 press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 6.

Those in that age bracket who do not live in long-term care facilities may start to schedule times to receive either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines starting at 9 a.m. Friday, Jan. 8.

People may register at www.ourshot.in.gov or call 2-1-1 from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. to set up a time to be vaccinated. They will be prescreened to make sure they meet eligibility criteria. Officials said the website should be up by the start of the sign-up time Friday.

People may also schedule appointments for their family members 80 and older. All Indiana residents 80 and older are to receive cards in the mail also as a reminder of their eligibility.

There will be at least one site per county where people may get vaccinated.

Holcomb and State Health Commissioner Dr. Kristina Box noted that Hoosiers 80 and older have made up about 52% of COVID-19 deaths despite only accounting for 3.8% of the population.

The state plans to extend vaccinations afterward to those 70 and older, than those 60 and older. The timeline for those are dependent on the number of doses the state can acquire and how many people wish to receive the vaccine who already qualify for it.

Right now, Indiana is expecting to receive about 78,000 doses per week.

When asked about possible anaphylactic shock reactions to the vaccine, Box said she’s only aware of one case in the state where someone had to be hospitalized after receiving it. That person is doing better after being treated. She said other people have had “minor reactions, which can be expected, a little bit of heart racing and itching and palpitations.”

Indiana has distributed about 128,026 first doses of vaccine, said State Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lindsay Weaver.