Jay stay blue

Jay County is “blue” for the fourth week in a row.

The county continued to be rated at low risk for spread of coronavirus in the Indiana State Department of Health update Wednesday. It marked the fourth consecutive week with a blue rating locally.

Also Wednesday, the state department of health announced teachers and other school employees, regardless of age, will be able to get coronavirus vaccines through Indiana’s clinics beginning next week.

While remaining at the lowest level in the state’s metrics, Jay County’s numbers went up in the statistics used to create those ratings. Its cases per 100,000 residents doubled to 48 from 24 the previous week and its positivity rate ticked up to 2.7% from 1.87%.

After no counties were in the “orange” (high risk) range last week, Tipton moved back to that section this week. Sixty-one counties, including Adams, Wells, Blackford, Delaware and Randolph, were blue, and the other 30 were “yellow” (moderate risk).

The coronavirus vaccine is currently availability to Hoosiers 50 or older. The expansion to school personnel includes aides, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and substitute teachers.

Indiana had been focused on getting vaccinations to older residents and health care workers in an effort to prevent serious illness and death.

“We had a plan. We were executing that plan very methodically. We were using data to drive all of our decisions about who was most at-risk,” Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday. “Our federal partners have said you need to add (teachers) in to any site, and so we will do that.”

Jay County continues to have vaccination clinics available at the health department, IU Health Jay and Walmart. The vaccination at the health department runs from 11:15 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as 8:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Saturdays, and the clinic at the hospital has appointments from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Appointments can be made by visiting ourshot.in.gov or calling the state’s 2-1-1 telephone assistance service.

Thus far, 3,354 first doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered in Jay County. Nearly 2,000 have been fully vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its COVID-19 guidelines this week, noting that those who are fully vaccinated can gather with other vaccinated individuals indoors without wearing a mask or social distancing. The CDC also noted that those who are vaccinated can gather with those who are considered at low risk for severe illness, such as grandparents visiting healthy children and grandchildren.

In public spaces, however, mask wearing and social distancing are still recommended. Other key guidelines include frequent hand washing, avoiding large crowds and staying home when sick.

Holcomb did not make any additional changes to state COVID-19 restrictions.

“We’ll get there ... I’m very optimistic,” he said. “But I’m laser-focused on Indiana, and I want to make sure we continue to do the things that are responsible in terms of the effects it has on our public health at large.”