Cases, tests and vaccinations are up locally

COVID-19 cases, tests and vaccinations are increasing locally.

The week of July 19, the Johnson County Health Department gave 80 vaccinations at its Compass Park clinic. For the week of July 26, that increased to 106. And as of Thursday, 79 vaccinations had been given this week.

That’s up significantly from the seven to eight daily doses the department had been giving out in previous weeks, said Betsy Swearingen, health department director.

Vaccinations are also up at WindRose Health in Edinburgh, which gave 190 vaccinations this week, compared to about 150 in previous weeks, said Jayne Pennington, practice implementation specialist.

Additionally, some area businesses have requested vaccine clinics for employees in efforts to boost vaccination rates at workplaces, she said.

Testing is also up. Health department staff have been giving 35-40 tests a day, compared to about 10 a day a few weeks ago. On Thursday, 67 tests were given, Swearingen said.

The trends started the week after the close of the Johnson County 4-H and Agricultural Fair, a sign that the increase is likely tied to students heading back to school, she said.

The upticks may also be linked to troubling information about the Delta variant, Swearingen said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the virus is as infectious as chickenpox and that, with the variant, an infected person spreads the virus to two times as many people as the original strain.

The CDC recommends Americans return to masking indoors because, due to Delta’s high viral load, even vaccinated people can easily spread the virus if they become infected.

Many have taken COVID-19 tests after returning from vacation, before going back to school or after potential exposure, Swearingen said.

“I think it is two-fold fear of the variant and people wanting to justify that their behavior isn’t making them sick. There’s also a portion of people who want to return back to normal and (getting a test) gives them a sense of security,” she said.

Another reason for the increase in testing could be the lack of accessibility, Swearingen said.

The Optum test sites the state had opened are now closed, and area hospitals are back to testing only symptomatic people and those who are having a medical procedure.

The only local option for tests without a scheduled appointment and symptoms is the health department’s Compass Park clinic. Tests are available at local CVS and Walgreens pharmacies, but appointments must be scheduled in advance online, creating a barrier for those without a computer.

Getting tested and vaccinated are still important, as is hand washing, social distancing and quarantining if exposed to the virus. All are key to maintaining some normalcy in this next wave of the pandemic, Swearingen said.

COVID-19 transmission is high right now in Johnson County and all surrounding counties with the exception of Brown County.

On Friday, 2,058 additional Hoosiers were diagnosed with COVID-19 through testing at state and private laboratories, according to Indiana Department of Health data, higher than it has been in months. In Johnson County, 52 new cases were reported on Friday. New cases reported Friday brings the number of Indiana residents now known to have had COVID-19 to 781,326.

To date, 13,624 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, an increase of nine from the previous day. No new deaths were reported Friday in Johnson County.

The positivity rate is 8.5% in Indiana, and 8.1% in Johnson County.

Across the state, 50.7% of Hoosiers are fully vaccinated. In Johnson County, 56.7% of residents are fully vaccinated. Needham Township and Bargersville are still the only communities in Johnson County with at least 70% of residents vaccinated, with 77.6% and 73.6%, respectively.

Both Greenwood zip codes have stalled out in the mid-60% range. Franklin this week crossed the 50% threshold for fully vaccinated individuals, while Whiteland, Trafalgar, Nineveh and Edinburgh lag behind with rates between 46% and 39%.

Though the county is making progress, a slim majority is vaccinated.

The CDC’s guidance should not be an excuse to remain unvaccinated, Swearingen said.

Though Delta more easily infects vaccinated individuals, those infections are still rare. State health department data shows 98% of COVID-19 cases since January have been among unvaccinated people. Infections among the unvaccinated are also less likely to lead to a severe infection or trip to the hospital. State health department data shows one in 18,795 are hospitalized after full immunization, whereas one in 237 are hospitalized among the unvaccinated population.

“If you are vaccinated and you get the variant, you’ll fare much better than those who are not vaccinated,” Swearingen said.

Vaccinations are available on a walk-in basis at Compass Park, WindRose Health in Edinburgh, Adult and Child Health in Franklin, Community Health Annex South and local Walmart and Sam’s Club stores.

Vaccinations are available by appointment only at local Meijer, Kroger, Costco, CVS and Walgreens pharmacies.

WindRose can bring vaccine clinics to area churches, community events or workplaces, Pennington said. To set up a mobile clinic date, call Pennington at the Greenwood office, 317-680-9901.