When the COVID vaccine rollout was first introduced in December there was a collective sigh of relief around the nation that it would be the beginning of the end of the pandemic. Supply hasn't kept up with demand, however, and as of today only 11.5% of the country has received at least one dose and a dismal 4.2% have received the highly recommended second dose. Since every governor was allowed to choose their state's path for vaccination and such limited supply, arguments have become prominent among Americans on who should be next in line to received the coveted immunization. Thus, now instead of feeling as though we have won the war against coronavirus, it seems more like the United States is in a real live version of the movie Hunger Games or even worse the macabre tale, The Lottery, where only a select few are the chosen people.
Indiana has been the center of debate from the beginning of January. Their vaccine roll out plan followed along with most of the nation's with those over eighty years old, healthcare workers and individuals who worked in long term care facilities receiving the first doses. The CDC had recommended high risk individuals to be among the next receiving vaccinations, but did not define exactly who those would be. After that group it was was then suggested that essential workers received their does which included teachers as well as those working in manufacturing. After setting up appointments for the first group and ensuring that Walgreens and CVS would be able to immunize the long term care employees and residents, Indiana announced the next tier. They said that they would be staying in phase 1a and move the age to 75 and up. This instantly infuriated the teachers' union as they felt that educators and staff were next in line after 80 year olds. In some surrounding states teachers were prioritized, but Indiana chose to look at the data instead. It saw that 85% of deaths occurred among those 65 years old and up. Since most teachers did not fall in that category, they could not justify giving up the precious doses to those who were not high risk. Last week Indiana made a decision on the next tiers of those eligible for vaccinations and once again there was an uproar. The state would move to 60 years old and up this week and then follow with Hoosiers 50 years old and up along with certain individuals with severe health concerns. According to the state's health director that would cover 97% of deaths due to COVID-19. The union was vociferous that teachers were being treated poorly by the state.
As a former teacher and a friend to many in the education field I sympathized with the lack of respect for the teaching profession, but I just couldn't agree with the union. The data showed that the average age for a teacher was 41 years old, well below the high risk age group. Schools across the state had not been super spreaders as once predicted since children in general do not spread the virus to adults, were less averse to wearing masks and were separated from one another while facing forward in the classroom. Most of the teachers that I knew that had gotten COVID had actually contracted it outside of the classroom at high risk activities such as eating out and social gatherings or from a college age family member. If the state decided to change its path it would be taking away immunizations from those who were most at risk to appease a union not to save its citizens. There were over 2 million essential workers in the state of Indiana with only 57,000 of them being in education. It just didn't make sense to give priority to a small group of essential workers especially when those in the meat packing industry were the highest risk group among that subpopulation.
Ultimately, the state of Indiana will do what it sees best for Hoosiers. Agree or not, something they are doing must be working as the positivity count, death rates and hospitalizations have gone way down since the middle of January. It's hard to be patient, but it's an important trail right now. This will end one day, hopefully sooner rather than later.
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