Nearly Quarter Of Hoosiers 16 And Up Vaccinated For COVID-19

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Nearly a quarter of Indiana residents age 16 and older are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, state health officials said Wednesday.

A total of 1,291,190 Hoosiers — 23.7 percent of Indiana's residents who are at least 16 — have been fully vaccinated, while 1,827,696 first doses of vaccine have been administered statewide, according to the Indiana Department of Health's COVID-19 vaccination dashboard.

Indiana officials made all state residents age 16 and older eligible for COVID-19 vaccines on March 31. People fully vaccinated have received a second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The state health department on Wednesday reported 1,260 newly confirmed coronavirus cases and 15 more Indiana deaths from COVID-19. Those deaths raised Indiana's pandemic toll to 13,099 confirmed or presumed coronavirus-related deaths.

Indiana’s COVID-19 hospitalizations and new coronavirus cases are continuing to see slow increases after reaching recent lows in mid-March, according to the state's coronavirus dashboard.

The dashboard listed a seven-day average of 1,020 new infections as of Tuesday, up from an average of about 800 two weeks ago. Hospitalizations were at 789, after falling below 600 for several days in mid-March. But Indiana's new infections are down about 85 percent from their December peak and hospitalizations are down about 77 percent from their December peak.

Indiana’s statewide mask mandate and other business restrictions meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus ended Tuesday after Gov. Holcomb signed orders last week lifting those limits.