They will then be in the same pool as all other eligible residents; see how the elderly can get the vaccine before that.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kenley Hansen receives the COVID-19 vaccine from Kirsten Weber, while Utah County residents lined up for vaccination at an old Shopko store in Spanish Fork, Wednesday, January 27, 2021 .
But as of next month, they will also no longer be on the front lines.
“They will still be eligible,” said Utah Department of Health spokesman Tom Hudachko, “but [they] will be in the same pool as everyone else. “
This pool will include residents aged 65 and over and anyone over the age of 18 who has certain chronic or serious health conditions.
But local health departments will focus the rest of February on finishing putting vaccines in the arms of people 70 and older, said state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn.
And Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson added that 29 Smith pharmacies and 18 Walmart locations will be receiving doses of vaccines starting Feb. 11, giving the elderly other avenues for vaccination.
Salt Lake County sets a deadline if you want a guarantee
Seniors who subscribe to the Salt Lake County nomination notification list are guaranteed to be in line as more vaccine is made available, health department spokesman Nicholas Rupp said – but only if they register by June 28. February.
“We will schedule your appointments before scheduling appointments for anyone aged 65 and over,” said Rupp.
For seniors on the notification list, “we will schedule them until February and, if necessary, until March,” said Rupp, “before we start scheduling people over 65 and younger people with underlying health problems.”
Subscribing to the list guarantees an appointment, but does not guarantee when. Residents will be notified when one is available.
And when someone receives the first dose, the second dose is “automatically reserved for them,” said Rupp. “These second doses will not be affected by anyone receiving the first dose, be it another over 70 or over 65”.
Getting vaccinated at Smith’s Food & Drug and Walmart pharmacies
Utah seniors who already have vaccination appointments through their local or regional health department should maintain them, Henderson noted.
But others may turn to certain Smith’s Food & Drug and Walmart pharmacies, which will begin supplying the vaccine next week.
In stores, only those over 70 will be eligible until the end of February. (Pharmacies will not vaccinate health professionals and school staff who are currently qualified.)
(Those without Internet access can call 866-211-5320.)
Registration for consultations will begin on Tuesday or Wednesday; the goal is to start “gun throwing” on Thursday.
“Just to be sure that we are not promising doses that we do not yet have on hand, we hope to receive them” before making appointments, said Montuoro. And the first doses are scheduled to arrive on Monday. “The best thing that people can do is monitor the availability of the website starting on Tuesday.”
Each participating pharmacy will receive around 100 doses per week, so there will never be a large crowd. “It’s not like a mass clinic,” said Montuoro.
People will be instructed to arrive at the scheduled time; they will have to confirm the information provided online; get your chance; and then feel socially detached while being monitored for 15 to 30 minutes.
Smith’s, which already administers vaccines in Idaho, Nevada and Arizona, knows that “there is a lot of passion and interest in the vaccine,” said Montuoro.
They made people “go to the stores, hoping to get one somehow,” said Montuoro. “But we don’t accept walk-ins.”
Smith’s will announce which of its locations in Utah will have doses available when it opens appointment scheduling and will prioritize its locations in rural counties and “underserved areas in our metropolitan areas,” said Montuoro.
Patients will not be charged for vaccines.
Walmart, which will also administer vaccines, “has not reached a delivery or activation date,” said spokeswoman Rebecca Thomason. “We hope to launch a complete list of stores involved in the implementation of the federal vaccine and as priority groups designated by the state can make an appointment in the coming weeks.
What will change on March 1st?
On March 1, when the number of Utahns eligible to receive the vaccination increases, no one at any age or group of health conditions will have priority over the others.
It is the same pattern that the state followed in December, Hudachko pointed out. For three weeks, hospital health professionals took priority. But when eligibility was open to all healthcare professionals, hospital employees became part of a larger group.
Therefore, as of March 1, “we cannot, within the eligibility group, give priority based on age. It is a kind of order of arrival for the entire age group, ”said Montuoro.