Monroe County, state shifting approach to COVID-19 testing, vaccination as cases stay low

Coronavirus testing and vaccinations will look a bit different moving forward as the pandemic shifts toward being endemic.

In Monroe County, the use of specialized state or community COVID-19 test sites is diminishing. Instead, people will go to a medical provider or pharmacy for testing.

According to Monroe County Health Department administrator Penny Caudill, the testing situation has changed over the course of the pandemic as the framework for testing expanded.

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"We don't need a lot of specialized testing sites because you can go to your provider and get tested," Caudill said. "You can go to a pharmacy or a minute clinic-type facility and get tested. Then you have home tests. So it's much more like we do for other (illnesses). You have routine places, and we don't need those specialized ones."

Caudill said the various state testing locations like the already-closed Gravity-operated site on Cook Medical property west of Bloomington will be shut down by the end of April. Other community test sites around Indiana may linger for a few more months, she said.

Reported COVID cases continue to be at a low ebb in Indiana, with only 3 cases per 100,000 in Monroe County last week, and 0-4 cases in other counties around the state, according to the Indiana Department of Health's COVID-19 dashboard. In January, Monroe County had 1,081 cases per 100,000 residents. Testing is also down significantly.

Over the past month, three deaths of Monroe County residents who had active COVID cases were reported on the dashboard as of Wednesday. For the past year, the county death total was 107, with 273 documented Monroe County COVID deaths since the pandemic began.

Monroe County officials will continue to communicate with Bloomington, IU Health and Indiana University leaders to monitor transmission rates in the community, Caudill said. Utilities workers are still monitoring levels of the virus in Bloomington's wastewater to help track the level of COVID transmission in the city, especially as more people use at-home tests where results are not reported to the state.

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If infection rate start trending the wrong way, Caudill said the health department could then tweak its policies or messaging to remind people to wear masks and take other precautions during any surge.

Few expect COVID-19 to go away completely, but Caudill thought the general response to it might eventually resemble measures taken with influenza. While not every case of the flu is reported, flu-related deaths are reported and lab testing is used to determine what type of influenza is active. Future efforts with the coronavirus will likely be centered on limiting spikes in transmission and deaths, while monitoring the latest data and research.

Caudill said the county's experience with the pandemic so far has left it better prepared if another strong wave of COVID, or some other highly infectious disease, hits the area. The team at the health department have a better sense of where testing sites and vaccination clinics should be located, though funding and approval of any action plan would still be necessary.

"One of the things that we're embarking on now is kind of that after-action report and an evaluation of what went well, what were the things that we did well or that other agencies maybe did well ... and then what are our opportunities to do better next time," Caudill said.

The county health administrator urged people to not get rid of their mask supplies just yet. She also has noticed that experiencing the pandemic has prompted many people to incorporate masks into their own routine measures to prevent sicknesses such as the flu or to minimize seasonal allergies.

At least one form of state testing will likely continue. Caudill noted the state government still has mobile testing units at their disposal. If coronavirus numbers and concerns start to rise again in Monroe County, Caudill said the county health department could request such a mobile unit to provide testing.

"So there are options available still for testing," Caudill said. "Testing isn't going away. It's just changing."

Contact Patrick McGerr at pmcgerr@heraldt.com, 812-307-5636, or follow @patrickmcgerr on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: COVID-19 testing, vaccination changes coming to Monroe County