Gov. Holcomb Gives COVID-19 Update; Speaks On Other States Lifting Mask Mandates

Indiana continues to make improvements in limiting the spread of COVID-19.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) – Governor Holcomb gave Hoosiers an update on Wednesday about the next round of COVID-19 vaccinations, numbers improvement, and the possibility of lifting mask mandates.

It was announced on Wednesday that Hoosiers age 50 and older are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. This age group makes up 35.3 percent of Hoosiers, 97.6 percent of all COVID-19 deaths, and 80 percent of all COVID-19 hospitalizations.

The next group of Hoosiers to become eligible for the vaccination will be Hoosiers who are 40 and up. According to the Indiana State Department of Health, those who are in the 40 to 49 age group are three times more likely to be at risk for a severe illness.

This age group is 91 percent of all Hoosier with co-morbidities and makes more than 50 percent of Indiana’s teachers eligible for the vaccine.

Currently, 51 of Indiana’s 92 counties are in the blue status on the state’s metric map. The remainder of the counties are in yellow, showing improvement in mitigating the spread of COVID-19.

Locally, Jefferson, Ripley, and Switzerland Counties are in the blue status, while Scott and Jennings Counties are in the yellow status.

It has been recently announced that the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, will be lifting the state’s mask mandate. When asked about lifting Indiana’s mandate, Governor Holcomb stated that all of his decisions since the beginning of the pandemic have been data-driven, but did not give information on when the mandate will end.

Governor Holcomb added that his focus right now is making the vaccine available to as many high-risk Hoosiers as possible.

If you are eligible in receiving a vaccine and would like to schedule an appointment by visiting, ourshot.in.gov.