INDIANAPOLIS — Here are Tuesday'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 select groups 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.
Slipping COVID-19 treatment demand hits Eli Lilly forecast
Eli Lilly fell well short of Wall Street’s first-quarter expectations, and the drugmaker chopped the top end of its earnings forecast due to lower demand for COVID-19 treatments.
Lilly pulled in $810 million in the quarter from sales of COVID-19 treatments and expects as much as $1.5 billion in revenue from the drugs this year. But vaccines are being widely delivered in the U.S., and the changing virus has limited the effectiveness of Lilly’s bamlanivimab.
Valparaiso University requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for the fall
Valparaiso University students, faculty and staff will be required to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before returning to campus for the fall semester.
“A vaccinated campus is the safest and most effective way to accomplish our objective of in-person instruction this fall," said José D. Padilla, J.D., University president.
Vaccines will soon be available at the university's student health center. A news release said the student health center has ordered vaccines to administer to students and that students will be notified when appointments open.
The university currently requires enrolled students to be immunized for measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus and meningitis, and last fall required all students to receive the flu vaccine. The university said it will accommodate documented medical or religious exemptions.
IPS hosting vaccine clinic for students, staff, family
Indianapolis Public Schools is offering a series of vaccine clinics to protect students, staff and families against childhood diseases and COVID-19.
The district will host a clinic for COVID-19 vaccinations Saturday, May 1 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Arsenal Technical High School in the west gym. The clinic is open to students, staff and families age 16 and older, as the Pfizer vaccine will be administered. People younger than 18 must be with a parent or guardian to receive the shot.
The vaccine is free for everyone, but insurance will be accepted. Appointments are required for the COVID-19 vaccine. To sign up, click here.
There will be another clinic May 22 so participants can receive the second shot.
CDC says fully vaccinated people can go outside without a mask
U.S. health officials say fully vaccinated Americans don't need to wear masks outdoors anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers, and those who are unvaccinated can go without a face covering outside in some cases, too.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the updated guidance Tuesday in yet another carefully calibrated step on the road back to normal from the coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 570,000 people in U.S.
For most of the past year, the CDC had been advising Americans to wear masks outdoors if they are within 6 feet of each other.
The change comes as more than half of U.S. adults have gotten at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, and more than a third have been fully vaccinated.
The CDC, which has been cautious in its guidance during the crisis, essentially endorsed what many Americans have already been doing over the past several weeks.
The CDC guidance says that fully vaccinated or not, people do not have to wear masks outdoors when they walk, bike or run alone or with members of their household. They also can go maskless in small outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated people.
But from there, the CDC has differing guidance for people who are fully vaccinated and those who are not.
Unvaccinated people — defined by the CDC as those who have yet to receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson formula — should wear masks at outdoor gatherings that include other unvaccinated people. They also should keep using masks at outdoor restaurants.
Fully vaccinated people do not need to cover up in those situations, the CDC says.
However, everyone should keep wearing masks at crowded outdoor events such as concerts or sporting events, the CDC says.
The agency continues to recommend masks at indoor public places, such as hair salons, restaurants, shopping centers, museums and movie theaters.
Phone alert issued for reminder of IMS vaccination clinic
Phones across central Indiana went off Tuesday morning reminding residents that COVID-19 vaccinations are available at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway clinic.
The public safety alerts are normally issued for Amber Alerts and severe weather information, but the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) said today’s alert was requested by the Indiana State Department of Health.
The IDHS said the alerts were sent to phones in Indianapolis and the surrounding counties.
The IDHS said today’s alert was the third alert issued to promote vaccination clinics and they have been very successful.
25K more Hoosiers fully vaccinated
The Indiana State Department of Health reported 867 new cases of COVID-19 in the state on Tuesday, along with 13 additional deaths from the virus. The deaths reported Tuesday occurred between April 23 and Monday. Total deaths in the state are now 12,883.
ISDH reported 25,276 additional people are fully vaccinated as of Tuesday morning, bringing the state's total up to 1,765,242 who have received either both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 32.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 4 a.m. ET Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 572,600 deaths in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 147.8 million confirmed cases with more than 3.1 million deaths and 85.5 million recoveries.
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.