Park Record file photo
Summit County announced on Thursday morning that it was inviting all Summit County residents age 40 and older to schedule an appointment to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
The announcement came when Governor Spencer Cox said that all Utahns aged 50 and over, and a few others with pre-existing medical conditions, would be eligible to receive a vaccine against COVID-19 from 8 March. A county spokesman said the county’s age limit is lower than the state one because of the way the city’s pre-registration age data was collected, adding that the Department of Health has the ability to inoculate people in the older age group. young.
“This is the largest group we have ever added,” Cox said during a briefing. “And we’re getting more and more vaccines in the state every week – that’s why we feel comfortable doing that.”
Cox asked Utahns to wait until Monday to make an appointment and avoid overloading the sites and call centers that are facilitating the unprecedented vaccination effort.
An hour after Cox’s announcement, the Summit County Health Department website crashed.
In a prepared statement announcing the move, the county said 6,300 people between the ages of 40 and 64 have pre-registered to receive the vaccine and that the county has sent online invitations to make an appointment to be vaccinated for all members of that group.
It can take weeks between the time someone is eligible to make an appointment for a vaccine and the date of that appointment. Cox said he anticipated opening vaccine eligibility for all Utah adults next month, although he warned that the schedule is optimistic and “assuming everything goes according to plan.”
“We anticipate and hope that by April, early April, we will be able to open eligibility for all adults in the state of Utah. That’s what we’re aiming for, ”he said.
Cox’s announcement came shortly after the state received its first batch of vaccines manufactured by Johnson & Johnson – 23,000 doses arrived on Wednesday, the governor said – and the announcement that health partners, including Intermountain Healthcare, would establish health care facilities. mass vaccination, including one in Park City Hospital.
The vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson requires only one dose, and officials said it is as effective in preventing serious illness and death as vaccines manufactured by Moderna and Pfizer.
Cox also announced that Utahns can get the vaccine anywhere in the state, but warned that they must return to that location to receive the second dose.
Summit County is continuing its mass vaccination campaign at Utah Film Studios near Quinn’s Junction and has recently doubled its capacity by adding a second drive-through route.
Health Director Rich Bullough said in the prepared statement that the county was confident it could expand eligibility requirements in part due to the success of this facility.
Authorities predicted a large increase in the number of doses arriving in Utah by the end of the month, and that the distribution network will soon be expanded to include partnerships with private entities, such as pharmacies at Walmart and Smith’s.
To apply for a vaccine, visit summitcountyhealth.org/vaccine or call 435-333-0050.