Marion County Focuses On Vaccinations

Indianapolis city leaders said Tuesday that the NCAA tournament over the past month, when many people visited the city, was a success.

Now the emphasis is on how the city will move forward in COVID-19 mitigation and vaccination efforts. Marion County will keep its mask mandate, as the state’s order turns to an advisory.

The city has a goal to vaccinate 80 percent of residents, but only 16 percent have received their shots so far. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett announced a new outreach campaign, Got My Shot, encouraging people to share their vaccination experience.

“You never know, your story could inspire others,” Hogsett said.

He said more shots in arms is how the city can return to more normalcy.

“That more than anything will see us through to the final days of this pandemic,” Hogsett said.

Marion County Public Health Director Dr. Virginia Caine said another effort will provide recovery grants to community based organizations.

“Working to address racial inequities in our COVID-19 response and recovery,” Caine said.

The county has also launched mobile vaccination clinics.

The county reported a slight uptick in the seven day average of overall positivity rate, at 4 percent, and in the number of new cases. Leaders said they expect a small surge but hope it will be more mild as the number of people vaccinated increases.