By Hope Shrum

TheStatehouseFile.com

FRANKLIN, Ind.—With warm temperatures and a shining sun in central Indiana, some Hoosiers were in good spirits not only because of the weather but because they will soon be eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

Gov. Eric Holcomb announced to the state Tuesday that Hoosiers 16 and older will be able to receive vaccines starting March 31.

Thirty-four-year-old nurse Jessica Thompson said she plans on getting her vaccine to stop the spread of the virus.

“I work in a hospital, and I have worked through the pandemic, and I’ve seen what it can do to people and their lives,” Thompson said. “So, I plan on getting it so that it doesn’t continue.”

Ken Casey, an 18-year-old Franklin College student, said they will be getting their vaccine as soon as possible. They said they’ll be the last person in their family to get it.

“I’ll finally be able to see my family in a group setting without social distance and stuff, and that’s really important to me,” Casey said. “And I also just want to do it to protect other people, as well as myself, from COVID.”

Another Franklin College student, Jessica McColpin, 20, is also excited to get her vaccine.

“It feels like the right thing to do,” McColpin said. “I mean, if we’re in the middle of a pandemic and you have the opportunity to prevent that by getting a vaccine, I don’t see why you wouldn’t.”

Holcomb also announced the state’s mask mandate and capacity limits will end April 6, less than one week after all adults in the state can start getting vaccinated.

Casey and McColpin said they do not agree with the mask mandate being lifted. They both said they think it should stay in effect until more people are vaccinated.

“I feel like with the mask mandate being lifted, people are going to be more careless in their acts and responsibilities,” Casey said. “I feel like it needs to stay put, as well as the capacity limits on buildings and stuff, because it’s just going to spike more cases because people who don’t get the vaccine are going to be … out and about spreading it potentially.”

Thompson said she is fine with the mask mandate being lifted because the pandemic has been going for over a year now, and there have been just under 1 million people vaccinated in Indiana so far.

“We’ve got to get back to some sort of normalcy in our lives,” Thompson said.

Schools prioritize student safety

Unlike individual Hoosiers, schools’ reactions to the governor’s announcement is more complicated since they have to balance educating students and keeping them safe.

Holcomb said he expects all K-12 schools to be back full time for in-person instruction for the next school year.

Brandon Brown, CEO of The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis nonprofit that advocates for charter schools, said even though the mask mandate and capacity limits will be lifted in a couple of weeks, as a community and as a state, everyone needs to remain vigilant and be smart.

“We can’t get too lackadaisical and really start to see community spread start to increase,” Brown said. “So, if we want to keep schools open, we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to mitigate the effects of the virus on our communities.”

He added that it has been a hard year on students, both academically and socially, so he is excited for students to possibly be able to do more if the end of the capacity limits allows for more activities in school.

“The more that students are able to see each other, the more they’re able to do non-academic activities together, the more fulfilled our kids will be,” Brown said.

John Elcesser, executive director of the Indiana Non-Public Education Association, said he agrees with Holcomb’s decision to keep mask guidelines in K-12 schools even after the statewide mask mandate is lifted.

“Speaking to any concerns that teachers may have maintaining masks, I have no problem with [schools still requiring masks], and I would say the vast majority of [private] schools will not either,” Elcesser said. “That is, you know, trying to be protective of school environment—make sure it’s as safe as possible.”

Elcesser just received his second dose of the vaccine, and Brown will be getting his when he is eligible after March 31. They both encourage all Hoosiers to get vaccinated as quickly as they can.

The Indiana State Teachers Association did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

FOOTNOTE: Hope Shrum is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.