INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana is switching gears in the battle against COVID-19.
The state health department is opening three mass vaccination clinics. The first one opens this week, inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The century-old icon of motor racing is part of a high-stakes race against COVID and evolving strains of the deadly virus.
"We didn't say 'pick me, pick me,'" said IMS President Doug Boles.
But Boles did tell health officials that if needed, the Speedway was prepared to host a mass vaccination clinic.
"At the end of the day I want to have people here for the Indianapolis 500 and our Brickyard weekend, and in order to do that we need to get people healthy," Boles said.
Thousands of people are expected over the three-day clinic running Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They will drive in the main 16th Street entrance and through the infield, then get vaccinated in the formula garages and recover in a parking area. Everyone stays in their cars and off the track.
Kristen Kelley is a registered nurse and the director of Infection Prevention for IU Health.
"It is a day we really have looked forward to," Kelley said. "Because when you have a vaccine that can work very effectively with one shot. It makes mass vaccination much easier."
Everyone will receive the just-approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Studies show it's less effective than Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. But direct comparisons, many health experts say, are unfair.
The J&J drug trials were conducted under different circumstances against newer, more aggressive strains of the virus. It performed particularly well on patients who became severely ill with COVID-19.
"There were no hospitalizations or deaths among the vaccine arm of the clinical trial, which is really encouraging," Kelley said.
Like walk-in clinics, the drive-thru clinics require appointments and have the same age and other eligibility requirements.
The move to mass vaccinations and lowering the age restriction to 55 indicates that Indiana is getting significantly more doses of vaccines.
"We still have a way to go. But we are still moving fast," Kelley said. "This vaccine is going to help us go faster."