Indiana officials said Wednesday that the state should be able to immediately inoculate a third of children ages 5 to 11 as preparations are made to expand Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for the age group if the federal government gives it approval.

St. Joseph County will accept a $3 million federal grant for health programs in minority communities even though some officials wanted to reject it over suspicions of facing more federal COVID-19 restrictions.

State health officials say anyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot should feel free to get one.

Indiana Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lindsay Weaver said the state has already been preparing to get children under 12 vaccinated against COVID-19.

Nearly 19 percent of Indiana students were chronically absent last school year, a substantial increase from the years before the pandemic.

Indiana has added 1,000 new confirmed COVID-19 deaths to its total in four weeks, pushing the state past another grim milestone: 16,000 dead.

Indiana surpasses 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases. Health officials grow concerned that hesitancy will play into other vaccines like the flu. And the state begins its rollout of booster shots.

Seventy-eight organizations have been awarded grants, which comes from pandemic stimulus funding approved earlier this year by Congress.

Gov. Eric Holcomb is appealing a judge's ruling in his emergency powers lawsuit against the General Assembly.

The Indiana Department of Health announced Friday it will offer booster shots of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines to eligible Hoosiers.