COVID-19 numbers are on the rise across the state of Indiana, and few Hoosiers are up to date on their vaccinations for the disease.
In late August, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, confirmed cases and wastewater concentration for COVID-19 all hit the highest points they’ve been at since a spike in December and January. Last week saw 3,385 confirmed cases in the state following a peak of 4,864 a week ago, while emergency room visits are at 3,188 after last week’s peak of 3,310. COVID-19 death counts, though, have stayed low despite the uptick in cases, peaking at 14 two weeks ago, less than a quarter of January’s peak at 66.
These trends match previous years, as hospital admissions, emergency department visits, statewide cases and wastewater concentrations have jumped in August every year since 2020 in Indiana according to Indiana Department of Health statistics. After the largest spike in 2021, which saw nearly 30,000 weekly cases at the end of August, the jump has gotten smaller each year, but 2024’s bump is slightly larger than that of 2023, which capped out at 4,123 weekly cases. National numbers also line up, with annual bumps in mid-August the past three years. Once again, this year’s national peak is already higher than last year’s, but lower than the three years prior.
According to numbers from the Indiana Department of Health, only 995,381 Hoosiers have been fully vaccinated, less than 15% of the state’s total population. Just under 55% of the state’s population (3,869,550 people) have completed their primary series for the vaccine.
For individuals five years and older, The Centers for Disease Control says that being fully vaccinated requires one dose of the 2024-2025 Moderna or Pfizer-BoiNTech COVID-19 disease, which were granted emergency use authorization on August 22. For those 12 and older and already vaccinated, one dose of the Novavax vaccine is also enough to be considered fully vaccinated, but for those not previously vaccinated, the Novavax vaccine requires two doses. For children six months old to four years old, two total doses of the Moderna vaccine or three total doses of the Pfizer vaccine are required, with at least one of those doses being the 2024-2025 version. Individuals who are immunocompromised or had the COVID-19 virus within the past three months have different specific recommendations which can be found on the CDC’s website. The agency emphasizes that everyone should get a 2024-2025 vaccine.
“Everyone ages 6 months and older should get the 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine,” the CDC’s website says. “This includes people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine before and people who have had COVID-19.”
2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccinations are available at the Hancock County Health Department and several area pharmacies, including Walgreens, Walmart, Kroger and CVS. Since Sept. 3, when it began administering the new vaccine, the county health department says it has administered 25 doses.
COVID-19’s annual summer spikes are unique, as most viral infections tend to spike in the winter. A report from Aliza Rosen at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that the earlier spike is due to a combination of factors, including the virus’ ability to mutate, summer travel patterns causing the disease to spread more, and waning immunity from the previous round of immunizations.
