<p>INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s rate of COVID-19 vaccination shots has remained sluggish in recent weeks while coronavirus-related hospitalizations have slowly climbed to their highest number since February.</p>
<p>State health department statistics updated Wednesday show that about 2 million people have been fully vaccinated in Indiana, or about 37% of those ages 16 and older.</p>
<p>Indiana’s vaccination rate has remained at about 40,000 people a day over the past three weeks. That is down from the state’s peak of more than 50,000 a day in early April.</p>
<p>State health officials have said they are worried about increased risk from more contagious coronavirus variants at a time when so many people aren’t immunized.</p>
<p>The health department’s weekly tracking map updated Wednesday showed four of the five Indiana counties that border Michigan continue to show moderate risk of COVID-19 spread.</p>
<p>Those counties have orange risk ratings — the second highest of the four ratings. Most other northern Indiana counties have the next-highest yellow rating. Indiana officials have been watching those northern counties because Michigan continues to have the country’s highest infection rate.</p>
<p>Indiana hospitals, meanwhile, reported treating just more than 1,000 coronavirus patients as of Tuesday. That is up about 85% since mid-March.</p>
