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Indiana Official Says COVID-19 Vaccine Could Be Available As Early As November

FILE PHOTO: Justin Hicks
/
IPB News

Indiana’s State Health Commissioner says a COVID-19 vaccine could be available for some Hoosiers as early as mid to late November.

Dr. Kris Box said federal officials recently told Indiana to prepare for initial shipments as early as next month.

“We believe the first vaccine that will come out will be Pfizer’s vaccine, which is a two-dose vaccine,” Box said.

READ MORE: Why Distributing A COVID-19 Vaccine Is Harder Than It Sounds

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Box said a second vaccine, from Moderna, could be available as early as December. But neither has gotten Food and Drug Administration approval, which Box said the state will wait to examine before any distribution.

Very few doses of the vaccine will be available early on. And the state has developed a distribution plan, with health care workers targeted as the first recipients.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.