2,044 Fully Vaccinated Indiana Residents Died Of COVID-19; 329,000 Breakthrough Cases Recorded

More than 2,000 fully vaccinated residents in Indiana have now died of COVID-19 despite a decline in new coronavirus cases in the state.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, health officials in Indiana have registered a total of 2,044 breakthrough COVID-19 deaths. At least 86% of these occured in residents aged 65 and older, with an average age of 78. The number of deaths represents 0.056% of all vaccinated people in the state.

As of Thursday, health officials have also recorded 329,167 breakthrough infections and 3,858 hospitalizations with COVID-19 among the vaccinated. The figures represent 8.961% and 0.105% of all fully vaccinated individuals across Indiana, respectively, data from the Health Department showed.

The report comes as the state's case rates show signs of declining. Over the past two weeks, officials have registered a 71% drop in new daily cases, according to an analysis by CNN.

As of Wednesday, the state has a moving average of 1,610 new daily cases. While the numbers remain high, it is lower than the average of 1,817 cases recorded the day before and 14,501 infections recorded on Jan. 22.

Indiana’s seven-day rolling all-tests positivity rate also dropped to 12.2% from a peak of 30.3% recorded mid-January. The same trend can be seen in a seven-day rolling unique individuals positivity rate, which was at 23% Wednesday. In comparison, the rolling average recorded on Jan. 20 was at 47.4%, the agency’s COVID-19 dashboard showed.

The declining number of COVID-19 cases in the state has led the Indiana Department of Health to announce that it was dropping requirements for K-12 schools to conduct contact tracing and quarantining on students who are exposed to the virus, regardless of their vaccination status. Additionally, schools will no longer be required to report positive COVID-19 cases to the health department.

“These changes reflect the rapid decline in COVID-19 cases as we emerge from the omicron surge and the fact that all school-age children have been eligible to be vaccinated since November,” State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box told Fox 59.

The state has now recorded a total of 1,672,761 cases and 21, 568 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.