INDIANAPOLIS — Sunday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic.
Nearly 86,000 Hoosier seniors schedule COVID-19 vaccine appointments
Nearly 86,000 Hoosiers age 80 or older have scheduled appointments to receive free COVID-19 vaccines as of 4 p.m. Sunday.
Individuals age 80 and older account for less than 4 percent of the state’s population but represent more than 19 percent of the hospitalizations and more than half of the COVID-19 deaths in the state, according to the Indiana Department of Health.
At least one vaccine clinic will be located in each Indiana county. Vaccines are free, but insurance may be charged an administrative fee.
Appointments for the second dose will be made at the clinic when the first dose is administered.
Follow these steps to register:
- Go to ourshot.in.gov.
- Click on the link in the red box near the top of the page that says "Click here to find a vaccination site."
- Select the county you live in.
- Select a vaccine clinic available in your county.
- Select the blue link that says "Click here to register."
- Select the group you belong to (People 80 years or older), and enter your date of birth.
- Certify that you are 80 years or older.
- Click "Schedule an appointment."
Due to the high demand, you may have to wait to access the scheduling app.
Doctors think Florida has more COVID-19 variant cases than we know of
There are two known COVID-19 variants spreading in the United States.
The CDC says Florida has nearly half of the known cases in the U.S. of a mutated and likely more contagious variant of the coronavirus.
The CDC says Florida now has 22 cases of that mutated virus. California has 26 cases, Colorado has two and New York and Georgia have each reported one case of the new variant.
Colorado was the first state to confirm a case of the new variant in the U.S. but some experts believe it was here sooner.
The issue with this new variant that experts believe is more contagious is the fact that we can't test for it on a wide scale.
State reports 5,127 new COVID-19 cases, 18 additional deaths
The Indiana State Department of Health on Sunday reported 5,127 new COVID-19 cases and 18 additional deaths
The deaths, recorded between Jan. 6 and Saturday raises Indiana’s death toll to 8,985, including both confirmed and presumed infections.
Indiana reports 6,045 new COVID-19 cases, 75 more deaths
Indiana health officials reported a fourth straight day with more than 6,000 new COVID-19 cases Saturday. The Indiana State Department of Health said the state had 6,045 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing to 558,560 the number of Hoosiers now known to have contracted it.
The department also added 75 more COVID-19 deaths, raising Indiana’s death toll to 8,967, including both confirmed and presumed infections. Deaths are reported based on when data are received by the state and have occurred over multiple days.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 22.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 6 a.m. ET Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 372,500 deaths in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 89.7 million confirmed cases with more than 1.92 million deaths and 49.8 million recoveries.
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.
England invites over 80s to get vaccine
Thousands of people 80 and older have started receiving invitations to get the coronavirus vaccine in England, officials said Sunday, as Britain ramps up its national vaccination program in a bid to meet its target of inoculating about 15 million people by the middle of February.
More than 600,000 invitations are due to arrive at doorsteps across England this week, asking the elderly to sign up for jabs at new mass vaccination centers near them.
The government has given a first dose of the vaccine to more than 1.2 million people so far.
The seven new large-scale vaccination centers join some 1,000 other sites across the country, including hospitals, general practitioners’ clinics and some drugstores.
Officials are hoping a speedy mass vaccination rollout will help get Britain out of its third national lockdown, which was ordered this month to curb an alarming surge of COVID-19 infections and deaths. Britain has seen 81,000 deaths in the pandemic, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.