INDIANAPOLIS — Here are Saturday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic, including the latest news on COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in Indiana.
Registrations for the vaccine are now open for Hoosiers 5 and older through the Indiana State Department of Health. This story will be updated over the course of the day with more news on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Racial split on COVID-19 endures as restrictions ease in US
Black and Hispanic Americans remain far more cautious in their approach to the COVID-19 pandemic than white Americans. That's according to recent polls that reflect diverging preferences on how to deal with the pandemic as federal, state and local restrictions decline.
Sixty-three percent of Black Americans and 68% of Hispanic Americans say they are at least somewhat worried about themselves or a family member being infected with the virus compared with 45% of white Americans, according to an April poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Experts say divided opinions among racial groups reflect not only the unequal impact of the pandemic on people of color but also apathy among some white Americans.
Throughout the pandemic, Black and Hispanic communities have experienced higher rates of illness and death from COVID, said Amelia Burke-Garcia, public health program area director at NORC. Those experiences have resulted in greater levels of stress, anxiety and awareness of the risks of catching COVID-19, she said, which means people of color are more likely to feel measures like mask mandates are needed.
“We've seen these trends endure throughout the entire pandemic,” Burke-Garcia said. “What we’re seeing now as mitigation measures are being rolled back is there’s still great concern amongst Black Americans and Hispanic Americans around the risk of getting sick."
Seventy-one percent of Black Americans say they favor requiring face masks for people traveling on airplanes, trains and other types of public transportation. That’s more than the 52% of white Americans who support mask mandates for travelers; 29% of white Americans are opposed. Among Hispanic Americans, 59% are in favor and 20% are opposed. The poll was conducted before a ruling by a federal judge scuttled the government’s mask mandate for travelers.
In Indiana, Tuwanna Plant said she sees fewer and fewer people wearing masks in public, even though she said she has been diligent in always wearing one. Plant, who is Black, said she sees people treating the pandemic like it's over, and she wants the mask mandate to continue.
Plant, a 46-year-old sous chef, said she had some concerns about getting the vaccine and took every other precaution, such as cleaning and masking, to avoid getting sick but recently was hospitalized for COVID-19.
The experience scared her — she has a preexisting lung condition, and knew family members who died from COVID-19. She said she plans to get vaccinated as soon as she can.
“I called my children while I was in the emergency room,” Plant said. “I didn’t know ... if it was going to get better or worse, I didn’t know. So it was the experience for me altogether."
Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist and editor-at-large at Kaiser Health News, said people’s lived experiences deeply shape how they perceive the pandemic. Anecdotes and personal experience can have a larger impact on behavior than numbers, she said, and people of color are more likely to have had negative experiences with health care prior to and during the pandemic.
Moderna seeks to be 1st with COVID shots for kids under 6
Moderna on Thursday asked U.S. regulators to authorize low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children younger than 6, a long-awaited move toward potentially opening shots for millions of kids by summer.
Moderna submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration that it hopes will prove two low-dose shots can protect babies, toddlers and preschoolers — albeit not as effectively during the omicron surge as earlier in the pandemic.
“There is an important unmet medical need here with these youngest kids,” Dr. Paul Burton, Moderna's chief medical officer, told the Associated Press. Two kid-size shots “will safely protect them. I think it is likely that over time, they will need additional doses. But we're working on that.”
Now, only children ages 5 or older can be vaccinated in the U.S., using rival Pfizer’s vaccine, leaving 18 million younger kids unprotected.
Pfizer on Tuesday said it has asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize a booster dose of its COVID vaccine for children from 5 to 11 years old.
U.S. health authorities already urge everyone 12 and older to get one booster dose for the best protection against the newest variants — and recently gave the option of a second booster to those 50 and older.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 81.32 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 7 a.m. ET Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 993,580 deaths recorded in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 513.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases with more than 6.23 million deaths and more than 11.35 billion vaccine doses administered.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness like pneumonia, or death.
Jazz Fest returns to New Orleans for 2022
After being silenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is back for the first time in three years.
People streaming onto the site from one main gate Friday were greeted by the strains of “Jesus on the Main Line” from the Gospel Tent as they moved onto the sprawling grounds that feature 14 music stages. That's in addition to scores of food booths offering delicacies from Louisiana and beyond, plus numerous art and craft exhibitions.
For some, Friday's opening holds echoes of 2006, when the show went on as the city struggled to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
Dr. Fauci says US COVID pandemic no longer 'full-blown'
America's top infectious disease expert said this week that the U.S. is no longer in a "full-blown explosive pandemic phase," while emphasizing that the COVID-19 pandemic at a global scale will likely last for some time.
In an interview with the Washington Post on Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci clarified comments he made during a Tuesday interview with PBS News in which he said the U.S. was "out of the pandemic phase." Fauci told the Post that the U.S. is now transitioning into a more "controlled endemicity," where subvariant cases, like those from BA.2 and BA.2.12.1, remain high but hospitalization levels do not match those from last fall's omicron surge.
“Right now, we’re at a low enough level that I believe that we’re transitioning into endemicity. ... We’re not in the full-blown explosive pandemic phase. That does not mean that the pandemic is over,” Fauci told the Washington Post. “A pandemic means widespread infection throughout the world. ... In our country we’re transitioning into more of a controlled endemicity.”
According to data from the CDC, current COVID cases and hospitalization rates are slightly rising again, but deaths have continued on a downward trend. Moreover, the CDC now estimates that more than half of all Americans show signs of previous COVID infections.
2nd COVID-19 booster shot available to Hoosiers 50 and up
The Indiana Department of Health announced Wednesday that Hoosiers age 50 and older, as well as those 12 and older with weakened immune systems, are now eligible to receive a second mRNA COVID-19 booster shot at least four months after their first booster dose.
The announcement comes one day after the Food and Drug Administration authorized an extra dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for that age group and and certain younger people with severely weakened immune systems.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention later recommended the extra shot as an option but stopped short of urging that those eligible rush out and get it right away.
The IDOH is advising vaccine providers that they can begin administering second boosters of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines to people who qualify.
The CDC also says that adults who received a primary vaccine and booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least four months ago may now receive a second booster dose of either mRNA vaccine.
You can find a vaccine location at ourshot.in.gov or by calling Indiana 211 (866-211-9966). Appointments are recommended, but many sites do accept walk-ins.
Marion County COVID-19 vaccination and test clinics continue
The Marion County Public Health Department (MCPHD) continues to provide free COVID-19 vaccination and testing to anyone interested in receiving these services.
MCPHD is operating one COVID-19 testing site, which is a drive-thru clinic located at 3838 N. Rural St. in Indianapolis.
The clinic's current hours are Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. This clinic offers PCR testing only and no rapid testing. A list of additional test sites registered with the Indiana Department of Health is available at coronavirus.in.gov.
Appointments for COVID-19 testing at the MCPHD location are not required but are available by visiting marionhealth.org/indycovid or calling 317-221-5515.
MCPHD is also offering COVID-19 vaccines at its district health offices, ACTION Health Center, and four other locations in Marion County. Appointments for vaccines are not required but are recommended.
Please visit ourshot.in.gov or call 2-1-1 to find a vaccination clinic.
Marion County clinic schedule
- Northeast District Health Office, 6042 E. 21st St.
Mondays: 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Tuesdays: 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. - Eagledale Plaza Health Office, 2802 Lafayette Road
Tuesdays: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. - Northwest District Health Office, 6940 N. Michigan Road
Thursdays: 3 p.m. - 7 p.m. - South District Health Office, 7551 S. Shelby St.
Mondays: 3 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Fridays: 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. - ACTION Health Center, 2868 N. Pennsylvania St.
Wednesdays: 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. - Martindale-Brightwood Public Library Branch, 2435 N. Sherman Drive (ages 12-over only)
Tuesday through Friday: 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Saturdays: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. - College Avenue Public Library Branch, 4180 N. College Ave. (ages 12-over only)
Tuesday through Friday: 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Saturdays: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. - East 38th Street Public Library Branch, 5420 E. 38th St. (ages 12-over only)
Tuesday through Friday: 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Saturdays: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. - IndyGo Carson Transit Center, 201 E. Washington St. (ages 12-over only)
Tuesdays: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Wednesdays: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Thursdays: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.