After setting more than a dozen COVID-19 records between October and December, Indiana has started the new year with significantly lower cases and deaths than those record-setting months.

As Indiana works to make sure older adults get the COVID-19 vaccination, local agencies on aging are helping register seniors and get the word out about mobile vaccination offerings.

Hoosiers 70 and older can now register for appointments to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The Indiana Department of Health announced the expansion Wednesday.

A bill that would give Hoosier workers the right to refuse employer-mandated vaccines had its first hearing in a committee Wednesday morning. It would go further than current federal laws and excuse workers based on their conscience.

Indiana opened registration beyond first responders and health care workers on Jan. 8, allowing Hoosiers 80 and older to schedule appointments for vaccines. As of Jan. 13, those 70 and older are eligible to schedule a vaccination appointment.

Registration opened to Hoosiers aged 80 and older on Friday, which represents about 4 percent of the population.

In some counties, initial doses have already become available for teachers, while others are still waiting without much information about when they'll get their shot.

Health officials say Marion County is experiencing a bump in cases after the holidays.

Indiana has used less than half of the total vaccine doses it's received so far. But Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lindsay Weaver said many more appointments are scheduled through the end of January and no vaccine will be wasted.

The next vaccination steps announced Wednesday come after vaccinations of Indiana health care workers began Dec. 16 and extended to nursing home residents and staffers last week.