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County stays red; DOH site not only place to register for test, vaccination
On Monday, September 27, the Indiana Department of Health announced changes to the timing of its COVID-19 dashboard (www.coronavirus.in.gov) updates to reflect the high volume of data flowing in each day.
Dashboards will update daily by 5 p.m. to allow for a more thorough review of data before posting.
School and long-term care dashboards will continue to update weekly.
“When we launched these dashboards, our goal was to provide Hoosiers the best data possible to help them understand the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indiana,” said State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG. “As the pandemic has progressed, we have added a significant number of features and additional dashboards that have exponentially increased the volume of data required to update the dashboards. This increased volume requires more time to vet for accuracy and technical issues. We will work on updating the dashboard as quickly as we can each day so that Hoosiers continue to have consistent, accurate information about COVID-19.”
The Brazil Times will adjust according to this new time frame to allow for the most current local data possible at our deadlines.
Due to the dashboard timing changes, ISDH will suspend the publication of routine daily news releases that reflect the dashboard postings.
Mobile testing and vaccination sites will continue to add to the dashboards, and Hoosiers will continue to notify when mobile testing clinics are coming to their communities.
Getting a vaccination
As more people look for vaccination clinics, it can be challenging to find a local one; that is why many chain pharmacies at local retail outlets hold COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics. However, these registrations for vaccinations or testing are not provided by the ISDH. These registrations are provided through the individual businesses’ websites.
Online vaccine registration, testing, and other helpful COVID-19 information for these clinics include:
CVS - cvs.com/content/coronavirus
Kroger - kroger.com/health/pharmacy
Meijer - meijer.com/services/pharmacy
Walgreens - walgreens.com/topic/findcare/coronavirus
WalMart - walmart.com/cp/pharmacy/5431
Indiana’s first pandemic
The Brazil Times has a headline in September 1918, announcing the first cases of Spanish influenza reported in Indianapolis.
For the time being, the initial 125 cases of influenza reported in Indianapolis seemed to be contained to military men.
While officials were confident Indianapolis had no civilian influenza cases, however, they understood that situation could change rapidly.
If necessary, the city might be required to issue a closure order: all local health officers throughout Indiana had to consider closing schools, movie houses, theaters, and all public gatherings should influenza become epidemic in their community.
An epidemic was defined at that time as five- to ten cases per thousand.
The Indiana Public Board of Health issued orders to close all schools, theaters, and churches effectively. Many businesses shut down, and postal workers were ordered to wear facial masks.
The city would have over 6,000 influenza cases over the next two months.
Newspapers that carried questions about the actual risk of the flu also carried stories indicating the grim nature of the pandemic.
Of the more than 3,200 deaths reported statewide in less than two months, more than half of the victims were between 20-40, resulting in more than 3,000 Indiana children becoming orphans.
Before the pandemic was over in Indiana, more than 150,000 Indiana residents were infected between September 8, 1918-March 15, 1919. Statewide, 14,120 Hoosiers died, 1,632 of them in Indianapolis during that period.