More Hoosiers are looking to get vaccinated as the number of Hepatitis A cases associated with an outbreak in Indiana surpasses 200.
The demand is especially high in counties seeing an abnormal increase in cases.
Lawrence County is among them. Nearly 30 people there have contracted the virus since November. The state typically sees fewer than that many cases in one year.
It’s leading more people to seek out the Hepatitis A vaccine. For the second time, the Lawrence County Veterans Transportation Network will bus veterans to Bloomington’s VA Clinic Tuesday to receive the vaccine.
System Coordinator Charles Delphia says he expects he’ll have to make additional trips to the clinic because of how many veterans want to get vaccinated.
“Here in the past week it’s really inclined a bunch,” Delphia says.
He says the outbreak has many residents concerned, especially after four Lawrence County restaurant workers were diagnosed with the virus.
“We have veterans that went out to eat and they’ve went to the restaurants around, and in the time frame they’ve ate there, comes to find out that’s when the Hep A individual that had Hepatitis A was there working,” Delphia says. “And they’re afraid of getting the Hepatitis.”
Health officials say people shouldn’t be worried about going out to eat because of the spike in Hepatitis A cases.
The state’s identified 28 counties at risk of an outbreak and is working with them to vaccinate certain populations. There are 202 Hepatitis A cases associated with the outbreak.