INDIANAPOLIS — Here are Thursday'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.
RELATED: Track vaccinations in your ZIP code
Indianapolis city leaders, health officials discuss downtown vaccines
Health officials and city leaders held a news conference on Monument Circle to discuss the importance of vaccinating downtown workers and residents as people return to work.
The Marion County Public Health Department, the U.S. District Court for the southern District of Indiana, Marion County Superior Court, the city of Indianapolis and Downtown Indy are partnering to vaccinate federal and city employees, along with downtown residents and other workers through a mobile clinic.
The mobile vaccine unit will be on Monument Circle until 3 p.m. Thursday. It will be at the Birch Bayh Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse on July 21-22 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.
The clinic is aimed at people who are hesitant to get vaccinated. After stopping by to get information about vaccinations Wednesday, Jason Jones came back Thursday to get his shot.
"To show my children, my close friends and family that I support them. They've also received the shot...I've been stubborn with it, but thought I'll just go ahead and get the shot," Jones said.
About 42 percent of eligible residents in Marion County are vaccinated.
MCPHD Director Dr. Virginia Caine said she would consider the mobile unit a success if they could vaccinate 50 people each day. Wednesday, 25 people got vaccines on the circle.
State reports 4,646 more fully vaccinated, 1 additional death
The Indiana State Department of Health reported 586 new cases of COVID-19 and 1 additional death Thursday.
In total, 759,618 Indiana residents have had the novel coronavirus, and 13,513 Hoosiers are confirmed to have died from COVID-19.
ISDH also reported 4,646 new fully vaccinated Hoosiers as of Thursday morning. A total of 5,737,144 vaccine doses have been administered in Indiana. This includes 2,853,337 first doses and 2,883,807 individuals who are fully vaccinated.
US unemployment claims reach new pandemic low
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits has reached its lowest level since the pandemic struck last year, further evidence that the U.S. economy and job market are quickly rebounding from the pandemic recession.
Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell by 26,000 last week to 360,000. The weekly tally, a proxy for layoffs, has fallen more or less steadily since topping 900,000 in early January.
The U.S. recovery from the recession is proceeding so quickly that many forecasters have predicted that the economy will expand this year by roughly 7%. That would be the most robust calendar-year growth since 1984.
Indiana Black & Minority Health Fair to feature free COVID vaccinations and health screenings
The Indiana Department of Health says it will provide $2,500 in free health screenings and free COVID-19 vaccinations during the 35th Indiana Black & Minority Health Fair, being held at the Indiana Convention Center this weekend in partnership with Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration.
The health fair will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday in Halls I, J and K.
Free COVID-19 vaccinations will be provided to individuals age 12 and older by Ascension and will be offered from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
School sports physicals will be offered by Community Health Network from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Pop-up clinics continue in Marion County
Marion County health officials are staging pop-up vaccination clinics that will be held in the next two weeks.
The first two clinics started on Monument Circle on Wednesday, July 14, and will continue on July 15 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. The second pair of clinics will be held next week, July 21-22, at the Birch Bayh Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse at 46 E. Ohio St. downtown. Those clinics will also take place from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.
The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be available at the clinic at no cost to any resident 18 years of age or older. No appointment is necessary.
The clinics are being held as part of a partnership between the Marion County Health Department and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Marion County Superior Court, the City of Indianapolis and Downtown Indy, Inc.
Vaccine deliveries rising as delta variant slams Asia
As many Asian countries battle their worst surge of COVID-19 infections, the slow-flow of vaccine doses from around the world is finally picking up speed, giving hope that low inoculation rates can increase and help blunt the effect of the rapidly spreading delta variant.
Some 1.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine are set to arrive Thursday in Indonesia, which has become a dominant hot spot with a record high infections and deaths. Vietnam, Thailand and South Korea have all imposed new lockdowns as they struggle to contain rapidly rising infections amid sluggish vaccination campaigns.
The U.S. has sent tens of millions of vaccine doses to Asia, part of President Joe Biden’s pledge to provide 80 million doses, including Vietnam, Laos, South Korea and Bangladesh.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 33.94 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 4 a.m. ET Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 608,100 deaths in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 188.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases with more than 4.058 million deaths. More than 3.49 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide.
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.