INDIANAPOLIS — Here are Friday's latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic, including the latest news on COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in Indiana. Registrations for the vaccine are now open for Hoosiers 12 and older through the Indiana State Department of Health. This story will be updated over the course of the day with more news on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marion County Health Department reminds fans to follow protocols
The Marion County Public Health Department is reminding residents and visitors of health protocols in place for the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
They include wearing a mask, washing or sanitizing hands frequently, and observing social distancing measures at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“We are thrilled that we were able to work with the IMS to develop health protocols that allow for fans to be welcomed back to this iconic venue for the 105th Running of the Indy 500,” said Dr. Virginia Caine, Director and Chief Medical Officer of the Health Department. “These protocols are in place to ensure race fans can safely enjoy the race and the weekend’s festivities. We ask residents and visitors to wear a mask, wash their hands, and follow distancing measures at IMS while enjoying the greatest spectacle in racing.”
Mask ambassadors will also be on hand to remind race fans of the importance of masking up.
European Medicines Agency recommends Pfizer for 12-15 year olds
The European Medicines Agency on Friday recommended that the use of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech be expanded to children ages 12 to 15, a decision that offers younger and less at-risk populations across the continent access to a COVID-19 shot for the first time during the pandemic.
Marco Cavaleri, who heads the EMA body that reviewed the vaccine, said the regulator had received the necessary data to authorize the vaccine for younger teens and found it to be highly effective against COVID-19.
The decision needs to be rubber-stamped by the European Commission and individual national regulators, he said.
The recommendation follows similar decisions by regulators in Canada and the U.S. last month, as rich countries slowly approach their vaccination targets for adults and look to immunize as many people as possible.
State reports 15K more fully vaccinated people, 13 additional deaths
The Indiana State Department of Health reported 15,836 more people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Friday morning. Indiana has recorded more than 5.1 million shots, and 2,492,305 individuals have been fully vaccinated as of Friday.
ISDH also reported 571 new cases and 13 additional deaths from the virus. The deaths occurred between May 10 and Thursday, and brings Indiana's total deaths from COVID-19 to 13,179. Another 417 probable deaths have been reported in patients who died with COVID-19 symptoms but had not tested positive for the virus.
The new cases reported Friday brings to 742,910 the number of Indiana residents now known to have had the novel coronavirus.
Memorial Day ceremonies canceled at Crown Hill Cemetery
Crown Hill Cemetery is canceling its Memorial Day Ceremonies due to the pandemic. The decision was made in the interest of the safety of visitors and employees.
With the in-person event canceled, there will instead be a short, patriotic video released. The video will be available to view at 8 a.m. on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31, on the Crown Hill Heritage Foundation’s website as well as the various Crown Hill social media outlets, including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
UK authorizes use of J&J vaccine as virus cases edge up
British government regulators on Friday authorized another coronavirus vaccine for use in the U.K. amid concerns about rising COVID-19 cases as a variant of the virus first identified in India spreads around the country.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said the single-dose vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson met "the expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness."
The authorization takes the number of vaccines in the U.K.'s armory to four following earlier approvals for the two-dose regimens developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, and Moderna.
The regulator said the vaccine developed by J&J subsidiary Janssen has been shown to be 67% effective overall in preventing COVID-19 infection and 85% effective in preventing severe disease or hospitalization. It can be be stored at refrigerator temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius (36 to 47 F), which the regulator said makes it “ideal for distribution to care homes and other locations."
Details of which groups will get the vaccine have yet to be determined. There was speculation it might only be administered to older adults after it was linked to reports of rare blood clots.
Hoosiers urged to visit free vaccination clinics
The Indiana Department of Health is encouraging Hoosiers to to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at a series of FEMA clinics around the state. Those clinics will run through 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Locations include:
- McMillen Park, 3901 Abbott St., Fort Wayne
- Civil Rights Heritage Center, 1040 W. Washington St., South Bend.
Clinics run by the Indiana Department of Health also are available in West Lafayette, Reynolds, Wheatfield and Mooresville.
Vaccinations are free at all sites, and no appointment is necessary.
Additional clinics are planned next week in Marion, Muncie, Butler, Shelbyville and Syracuse. To find a location visit www.ourshot.in.gov or call 211.
Costco bringing back samples, food courts in June
Costco announced plans to bring back its free samples after a 14-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The warehouse chain's Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said during an earnings call Thursday that the company is going to begin bringing back in-store samples over the next few weeks through the end of June.
"As you all know, we eliminated our popular food sampling and demo activities in our warehouses last March at the onset of the pandemic," Galanti said. "I'm happy to report that over the next couple of weeks we will be beginning a phased return to full sampling."
Galanti said that the first wave of sampling returns will take place in 170 of its 550 Costco locations in the United States by the first week of June. He said sampling would return to every location in the U.S. by the end of June, depending on state and local COVID restrictions.
Increased safety protocols will still remain in place, according to Galanti. He said all samples will be prepared "behind plexiglass, prepared in smaller batches for better safety control and distributed to members one at a time."
Food courts will feature reduced seating at tables placed to allow for social distancing.
Pop-up clinic coming to Speedway's Main Street
The Marion County Public Health Department is holding a race-themed COVID-19 vaccination clinic this week in Speedway.
The walk-up clinic, held in partnership with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is set for Thursday and Friday on Main Street.
Friday's clinic will be held from 2-5 p.m. on Main Street near Fundae's as part of "Rockin' on Main."
The clinics will offer the two-dose Pfizer vaccine for those 12 years of age or older and the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine for those 18 and up.
Japan to extend virus emergency with safe Olympics at stake
Japan is set to extend a coronavirus state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas with infections not yet slowing to levels it can safely host the Olympics opening in July.
A government minister says the extension is needed because people are increasingly roaming around in public, when they should be doing the opposite, and lifting the emergency might cause infections to spike.
Hospitals in some areas are still overflowing with COVID-19 patients and serious cases hit new highs recently. The government is due to announce later Friday that the emergency will be extended to June 20.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 33.2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 4:30 a.m. ET Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 593,200 deaths in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 168.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases with more than 3.51 million deaths. More than 1.7 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide.
The actual 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.