By John Estridge
About 1,900 COVID-19 vaccinations have been provided from the Franklin County sites, and there have been 35 deaths in Franklin County attributed to COVID-19.
Those were some of the COVID-19-related facts concerning Franklin County that Franklin County Commission President Tom Linkel revealed at the commissioners’ meeting Tuesday morning, February 23. Earlier in the pandemic, the Franklin County COVID-19 Task Force gave weekly updates but that was disbanded several months ago, leaving local updates sporadic.
Of the 35 COVID-19-related deaths in the county, 13 of those deaths came from Brookville Healthcare, a nursing home located on Indiana 101 north of Brookville, Linkel said.
According to Linkel, those manning the county’s vaccination sites are averaging a vaccination every 10 minutes when the vaccination clinics are open. There have not been any wasted vaccines. However, there was a problem getting vaccinations delivered to the sites last week due to inclement weather, forcing the need to reschedule Friday, February 19 appointments to this current week.
He said residents can now make appointments for vaccines through Kroger’s in Batesville and Kroger’s and Wal-Mart in Connersville.
According to Linkel, people do not have to go to vaccination sites in the county where they reside but can also go to ones in other counties, with an appointment.
Linkel announced during the meeting, those 60 and older can now make appointments to receive the vaccine.
In answer to a question from the audience about a waiting list at the local site, Linkel said he is not aware of one. No one from the county health department attended the commissioners’ meeting in person or was on the Zoom virtual meeting. The questioner said if there is a waiting list, it should be advertised so everyone has access to it and not just a privileged few who have been made aware of the list.
Later in the meeting, the commissioners unanimously approved to pay the first payment of $20,000 to Franklin County EMS. EMS stepped up to help man the local COVID-19 testing site at EMS building located on Mill Street in Brookville. The county health department did not have the extra personnel available to man the site and do their regular duties as well, Linkel said.
The county received a $100,000 Indiana State Department of Health Grant for that reason earlier in 2020. This action by the commissioners will make the payment and then the county will be reimbursed by the grant, officials said. To make all this possible the commissioners, representing the county, must sign a contract with EMS. Thus, the motion to make the first payment was contingent on the contract being signed by both parties.
Franklin County Auditor Karla Bauman said the $20,000 would cover claims through January.
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