INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Dr. Jerome Adams, the WISH-TV medical expert and a former U.S. surgeon general, talked Tuesday on News 8 about World Mental Health Day.

He said he’d give Indiana a grade of D+ for its mental health treatment.

An anesthesiologist with a master’s degree in public health, Adams said that “there’s no way you can give us a passing grade when you consider that one-fifth of Hoosiers had a mental health issue last year and two-thirds of them were unable to get the help that they needed.”

However, he noted a positive development for Hoosiers.

“We’ve got promising news in light of the lieutenant governor’s Mental Health Roundtable, which I’m a part of and which the Colts’ Kalen Jackson supports. Many other leaders around the state are a part of that roundtable. We’ve got the Legislature passing SB (Senate Bill) 1 to expand access to mental health services, and we now have 988, which is a new crisis hotline that families can use to call for help instead of calling 911 for police.”

In Marion County, statistics show, nearly 26,000 people who needed mental health treatment in 2022 did not get it. Is Adams surprised by the number?

“I’m not surprised unfortunately because we’ve been seeing this building over the years.

“I do want to highlight the the case of Herman Whitfield III, who, as you all know, was covered on WISH-TV earlier this year, died after police responded to his parents’ home when they called 911 during a mental health crisis he was having.

“The good news … is that we do have some positive wins with 988 instead of calling 911. People can call 988 for a crisis. We’re going to have more treatment because of SB 1, Senate Bill 1, passed by the Legislature, and we’ve got focus around this. I love the Colts’ Kicking the Stigma campaign that they have really trying to help normalize mental health, and normalizing the idea of asking for treatment when you need it.”

• Clapton and Cobain classics to boost Kicking the Stigma

Latest on COVID-19

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the Novavax vaccine to help prevent COVID-19 cases, but the approach is different.

Adams said, “I’m really excited about this because many people have been hesitant about the mRNA technology.”

mRNA instructs cells in the body to make specific proteins, vaccine makers say.

“The Novavax vaccine is one of three vaccines currently FDA-approved, and it’s the only one that doesn’t use the new mRNA vaccine technology. It’s unique in that it’s protein-based and not mRNA-based, and its technology has been used before in vaccines to prevent shingles, HPV, and DTaP or diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis.”

The FDA approval allows the updated Novavax vaccine for people 12 and older, and it targets the newest circulating strains of COVID.

Colts QB’s shoulder injury

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen said Monday that quarterback Anthony Richardson injured his AC joint in his right shoulder in the Week 5 win over the Titans.

So, what’s an AC joint injury?

Adams said that “it’s been reported he has a Grade 3 AC joint sprain. So, the AC joint links your shoulder blade to your acromion — A to C — and a sprain means an injury to your ligaments that span that joint. It can occur after a fall onto your shoulder or to an outstretched arm, as we saw happen to Anthony Richardson, and a Grade 3 sprain means that it’s high grade, and this is almost certainly a multiweek injury.”

This story was created from a live interview aired on WISH-TV. Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.