Speedway extends mass-vaccination clinic as Indianapolis 500 approaches
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana State Department of Health is extending the mass-vaccination clinic dates at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Multiple dates have been added throughout May so fans can get vaccinated during race events.
“We are going to be back on track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500,” said Doug Boles, president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, during a Thursday news conference with state health leaders.
While IMS will be adding fans back into the race-day tradition this year, they are also adding dates for mass vaccination clinics.
- May 10, 17, 24: Johnson and Johnson and Pfizer vaccines
- May 11-16: second doses of Moderna and Pfizer
- May 21: follow up to the family day event from April for the second dose of Pfizer.
“We are going to continue the mass vaccination here, which is continuing to service our community,” said Dr. Kris Box, state health commissioner.
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IMS is truly transforming to “the greatest spectacle in vaccination” by offering inoculations during drivers’ practices inside the track.
“We want to make sure we give everybody an opportunity to get that vaccination here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Boles said.
Inside gates 1, 6, and 9, there will be first-aid stations where fans can get vaccinated while attending events in advance of the Indianapolis 500 on May 30.
If the experience of getting vaccinated at the track isn’t enough, fans who check the box this month will get a special race themed T-shirt.
At the track during May, the Indiana State Department of Health could administer 30,000 first doses and 20,000 second doses of vaccine. It’s a challenge that Boles, Box and Dr. Lindsay Weaver, Indiana’s chief medical officer, think they can accomplish especially as a new age group becomes eligible for the shots.
“What is really important about the Pfizer vaccine is that it is available for people 16 and older, and we do expect that here in the next week they are actually going to expand that down to the age of 12,” Weaver said.
During the news conference, Box also mentioned a new statistic regarding breakthrough cases. Close to 100 people in Indiana, or 0.05% of those who have been fully vaccinated, have reportedly contracted COVID-19. Box says state leaders will discuss that fact further in a Wednesday news conference with Gov. Eric Holcomb.