Gov. Holcomb provides update on state's response to COVID-19

Governor Eric Holcomb held his weekly press conference Wednesday afternoon to give an update on the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The governor says with the arrival of the vaccine, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but we still have to follow safety precautions.

The state has provided information on the vaccine on its website

Initial doses will be limited, so the first priority for vaccine will go to healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities.

If you answer yes to any of these questions, you are among the first group of healthcare workers who will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Please make sure that your email address is current with the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency so that you will receive updates when registration is open.

• Do you work or volunteer in healthcare and have (physical or close) contact or face to face interactions with patients? Examples include:
  • Inpatient, outpatient, provider office setting, nursing homes, residential care facilities, assisted living facilities, in-home services
  • This includes all clinical and non-clinical positions: clinicians, dietary, environmental services, administrators who have direct contact with patients, clergy who see patients in the healthcare setting, non-clinicians who assist in procedures, transportation staff, etc.
  • This also includes local health department staff who interact with patients at test sites, health clinics or provide direct patient care
• Do you have exposure to COVID-19 infectious material? (Examples include cleaning of rooms or material from COVID-19 patients, performing COVID-19 testing, other exposure to infected tissue, performing autopsies or other post-mortem examinations of COVID-19 patients)
• Do you reside in a long-term care facility (nursing home, residential care, assisted living)?

Only people who received a link directly from their employers can register for vaccination at this time. As of Dec. 15, only hospital-based employees, long-term care staff, and emergency medical service providers are eligible to receive the vaccine. A facility ID will be required. We will notify additional healthcare personnel of their eligibility as more vaccine becomes available.

The timeline for additional phases of vaccine administration is yet to be determined