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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana Gov. Eric Holcomb was jabbed with the COVID-19 vaccine shot Friday as the state’s first mass vaccination clinic opened at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Holcomb sat wearing a face mask in the front passenger seat of an SUV while getting the shot in his right arm of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine being given during the drive-through clinic.
Holcomb said his message was, “Do it, just do it.”
“This is going to help us beat COVID-19,” Holcomb said. “The more, the faster.”
The state health department said nearly 17,000 people had filled up four days of appointments for the speedway clinic being held Friday through Monday.
Holcomb, who is 52, had said he didn’t expect to receive the vaccine until his age group’s time arrived because he doesn’t have health problems.
State health officials opened up Indiana’s vaccination eligibility on Wednesday to all residents 50 and older.
About 630,000 people, or nearly 10% of Indiana’s population, were fully vaccinated through Wednesday, according to the state health department. The state has recorded more than 12,600 confirmed or presumed coronavirus-related deaths over the past year, although Indiana’s COVID-19 death and hospitalization rates have fallen about 80% since their December peaks.
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