Montgomery County Health Officer Dr. Scott Douglas said Hoosiers should expect coronavirus cases to rise in the next few weeks as the COVID-19 variant first identified in the U.K. spreads across the United States.
The more contagious variant, known as B.1.1.7, is starting to become the predominant strain across much of the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s been detected in at least one case from Montgomery County.
“I don’t think anybody knows how bad it will be, whether there will be just a little uptick or not,” Douglas told the county health board on Tuesday.
Public health officials have been raising concerns about new strains of the virus for months, even as states including Indiana ease restrictions and millions of Americans line up for a vaccine.
“From the national [public health experts], we’re hearing pretty alarming statements,” Douglas said. “But some of the projections that I’ve looked at don’t seem to project that much [of an increase.]”
The forecasts predict a small bump in cases before the numbers fall back down in June, he added.
New coronavirus infection numbers in Montgomery County have plateaued after declining since January. The county began the week with no new cases for the first time since Oct. 14.
Altogether, 4,083 coronavirus cases and 86 deaths have been confirmed. The total includes seven cases reported on Wednesday.
More school-aged children were testing positive for the virus in the weeks before spring break, health department administrator Amber Reed said.
The cases are mainly in students from Crawfordsville and North Montgomery schools, including athletes. The children showed mild or no symptoms, which can make it difficult to track the cases, Reed added.
“And so it’s really hard to tell how or when they might have got [the virus],” she said. “I think the fact that we’re moving into outdoor sports and those kinds of things is actually going to help us tremendously.”
A total of 61 Crawfordsville High School students have tested positive for the virus, according to the latest report from the Indiana State Department of Health. North Montgomery has reported 42 student cases and 35 students received positive tests at Southmont.
The totals are lower in the elementary and middle schools, the state reports.
Indiana opened up COVID-19 vaccinations Wednesday to all Hoosiers 16 and older. County health officials are in talks with schools and the Crawfordsville Fire Department’s Community Paramedicine Program to set up a vaccination clinic for high school students.
The health department needs an allocation of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is the only one approved for people under 18, to dispense the shots.
Pfizer announced Wednesday that its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and strongly protective in kids as young as 12.
Wabash College expects to receive a shipment of Pfizer doses to vaccinate students and faculty. No positive cases have been reported on campus for three consecutive weeks, Douglas said.
The number of negative tests performed by the college is helping drive down the county’s positivity rate.
“We would still be yellow regardless, but we wouldn’t be looking as good as we are,” Douglas said, referring to the state’s color-coded COVID-19 map.
The health department’s vaccine clinic in the former Save A Lot store on South Boulevard will now be open on Fridays to accommodate an increased allotment of Moderna vaccine.
A total of 5,591 Montgomery County residents have been fully vaccinated, representing 14.6% of residents over age 16, state figures show.
Less than a quarter of eligible residents have received at least the first dose of a vaccine. Both rates are below the state average.
A walk-in vaccine clinic will be offered for Hispanic residents from 4 to 7 p.m. April 8 at the site. More Hispanic residents have been vaccinated since eligibility opened to people over age 30, but the department says not enough people have been reached.
“We’re missing a large group, but we want to make sure we’re making access available to them,” Reed said.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
