By DEMIE JOHNSON
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
During Wednesday’s COVID-19 briefing, state health officials pleaded with the Biden administration to send more rapid COVID-19 test kits to Indiana.
This comes a little more than a week after President Joe Biden announced the purchase of 500 million tests Americans could sign up to get sent directly to their homes. The website to get the tests won’t be launched until sometime next month, but Gov. Eric Holcomb said Hoosiers need help now.
“I think I can speak for other governors,” Holcomb said. “This is not a partisan statement whatsoever. We need it now. There is a state shortage and a record demand.”
Although the supply shortage is weighing heavily on many state agencies, the Fishers Health Department is finding ways to step up. One way is though the health department’s vaccination and testing clinic.
Heltz
“We’re maxing out all our resources to accommodate our residents and any Hoosiers, frankly, in search of testing and vaccines and to be part of the solution,” Fishers Health Department Director Monica Heltz said.
Heltz says the clinic, which expanded its hours to 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, has seen much success. In one day, more than 940 people were vaccinated with first and second doses as well as booster shots and more than 500 tests were administered.
“Being open and available for walk-ins is really important because I can’t tell you, like, with these extra hours, we’ve seen about 600 people walk in,” Heltz said. “Only 300 people that we’ve seen in the last day and two have had appointments. The other 600 people are walking in.”
Heltz says not only has the Fishers site helped administer hundreds of booster shots, but people are also showing up for their first and second doses of the vaccine, something she hasn’t seen in several months.
She says the ultimate goal is to help decrease the number of hospitalized Hoosiers.
“We only have 7 percent ICU bed availability in District 5, which is Marion County and all the surrounding counties,” Heltz. “That’s not even enough to juggle patients around.”
Living in Fishers is not a requirement to go.