Katie Fyfe | The Journal Gazette
Mindy Waldron, administrator of the Allen County Department of Health, received extra pandemic pay last year. Previous Next
Sunday, April 04, 2021 1:00 am
Educators lead list on public pay
Pandemic puts health administrator in top 25
JIM CHAPMAN | The Journal Gazette
Mindy Waldron s salary is usually not among the top government-funded salaries in Allen County.
As county health department administrator, Waldron s base pay was $100,917 last year. But because of the coronavirus, the county commissioners and County Council approved extra pandemic pay for Waldron and others.
That pushed her salary to $191,114 in 2020, ranking her 13th on the list of the county s publicly funded earners. The public employee compensation figures are from the Indiana Gateway for Government Units, a state internet portal providing financial information public agencies are required to file.
Vaccines open up to 55 and older
2-week wait at some city sites; 4 new deaths in county
ROSA SALTER RODRIGUEZ | The Journal Gazette
About 24,000 more Allen County residents are now eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Indiana State Department of Health on Tuesday lowered the age to receive vaccination to 55. According to federal census figures from 2019, that means 23,544 Allen County residents between 55 and 59 years old can now sign up to get the shots.
Statewide, an additional 446,000 more people are now eligible, said Megan Wade-Taxter, state health spokeswoman.
Those eligible can sign up at ourshot.in.gov or by calling 211, she said.
ELLA ABBOTT / WBOI
The Allen County Health Department’s vaccine clinic has been administering about 1,300 vaccines a week, but said it has the capacity for much more.
The clinic opened on January 13 and is open Wednesday through Saturday each week. The health department administered about 700 vaccines in the first week and almost 1,300 in the second week.
Department administrator Mindy Waldron said the clinic is prepared to take on much more and she hopes to see the amount of appointments increase each week. But she also said they’re limited by how much vaccine the county is given.
“I would feel comfortable that, without long lines, we could probably do upwards of 700 easy, and go to 1,000 if we pulled the trigger on bringing in the rest of our staff, a day, Waldron said. Whereas, we’re only doing about 1,300 a week and it is just related to vaccine coming to us.”