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Indiana coronavirus updates for Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021

The latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic from Saturday, Jan. 16.

INDIANAPOLIS — Saturday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.

State reports 3,973 new cases, 41 additional deaths

The Indiana State Department of Health is reporting 3,973 new COVID-19 cases among Indiana residents Saturday. A total of 587,049 Hoosiers are now known to have had the virus. 

Another 41 deaths that occurred between Jan. 5 and Friday were also reported Saturday. A total of 8,913 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19, with another 374 probable deaths reported based on clinical diagnoses but with no positive test on record.         

To date, 2,819,864 unique individuals have been tested in Indiana, up from 2,806,743 on Friday. A total of 6,386,194 tests, including repeat tests for unique individuals, have been reported to the state Department of Health since the beginning of the pandemic.

Nearly 56,000 vaccinated in Indiana

Hoosiers age 70 and older, healthcare workers, long-term care residents and first responders are now eligible to receive a free COVID-19 vaccine. To schedule, visit https://ourshot.in.gov or call 211. Additional locations and appointments are being added as more vaccine becomes available.

The state reported 282,943 Hoosiers had received their first dose of vaccine before Saturday, and nearly 56,000 have been fully vaccinated.

Biden: 100 million shots in 100 days

President-elect Joe Biden is pledging to boost supplies of coronavirus vaccine and set up new vaccination sites to meet his goal of 100 million shots in 100 days. It’s part of a broader COVID strategy that also seeks to straighten out snags in testing and ensure minority communities are not left behind. 

He said Friday the lasting impact of his plan will come from uniting Americans in a new effort grounded in science and fueled by billions in federal money for vaccination, testing and outbreak sleuths. 

Biden spoke a day after unveiling a $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” to confront the virus and provide temporary supports for a shaky economy. 

Complaints over pace of COVID-19 vaccine shipments

Uncertainty over the pace of federal COVID-19 vaccine allotments is triggering anger and confusion in some states. Governors and other officials are worried that the shipments they expected soon won’t be coming through.  

Among the most outspoken state officials is Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. She said Oregon’s efforts to increase vaccinations have been thrown in disarray because of deception by the administration. 

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says there may be confusion over expectations. But he says there has been no reduction in vaccine doses shipped to states.

Latest US, world numbers

There have been more than 23.53 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 5:30 a.m. ET Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 392,100 deaths in the U.S. 

Worldwide, there have been more than 93.94 million confirmed cases with more than 2.01 million deaths and 51.78 million recoveries.

RELATED: See where confirmed Indiana coronavirus cases are with this interactive map

RELATED: VERIFY: Are Indiana’s new COVID-19 case numbers inflated with multiple positive tests for the same person?

The real number of people infected by the virus around the world is believed to be much higher — perhaps 10 times higher in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — given testing limitations and the many mild cases that have gone unreported or unrecognized.

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.

MCPHD testing, vaccine sites closed for MLK Day

The Marion County Public Health Department will be closed Monday, Jan. 18 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. That includes the COVID-19 vaccine clinic and drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites.

The sites will return to regular business hours Tuesday, Jan. 19.

Pacers-Suns game postponed

The Pacers vs. Suns game scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 16 in Phoenix has been postponed. The Pacers said the postponement was due to ongoing contact tracing within the Suns' program.

According the the Pacers, the Suns do not have eight available players — required by the NBA — for the game.

IU-Michigan State men's game postponed

The Indiana University and Michigan State men's basketball game for Sunday, Jan. 17 has been postponed. 

A release from IU said it was due to COVID-19 issues with the MSU team.

The schools will work with the Big Ten Conference to reschedule the game.

IU-Rutgers women's game postponed

The Indiana University and Rutgers women's basketball game for Monday, Jan. 18 has been postponed due to coronavirus concerns within the Rutgers program.

Rutgers had already postponed previously scheduled games against Purdue, Ohio State and Northwestern.

The schools will work with the Big Ten Conference to reschedule the game.

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