Then they will be in the same pool as all other eligible residents; Here’s how seniors can get the vaccine before that.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Kenley Hansen receives a COVID-19 vaccination from Kirsten Weber as Utah County joins for vaccinations at a former Shopko store in the Spanish Fork on Wednesday, January 27, 2021.
But starting next month, they won’t be at the top of the line either.
“They will still be eligible,” said Utah Health Department spokesman Tom Hudachko. [they] they will be in the same pool as everyone else. ”
This pool will include residents over the age of 65 and anyone over the age of 18 who has certain chronic or severe health conditions.
But local health departments will focus the rest of February on completing the introduction of vaccines into the arms of people over the age of 70, said state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn.
And Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson added that 29 Smith pharmacies and 18 Walmart locations will receive vaccine doses starting Feb. 11, offering seniors other avenues for vaccination.
Salt Lake County sets a deadline if you want a guarantee
Seniors on the Salt Lake County Appointment Notification List are guaranteed to be in line as more vaccine becomes available, Health Department spokesman Nicholas Rupp said – but only if they register by the age of 28. February.
“We will schedule their appointments before scheduling meetings for anyone 65 or older,” Rupp said.
For the older people on the list of notifications, “we will schedule them by February and, if necessary, by March,” Rupp said, “before we start scheduling people over 65 and people younger than those with underlying health conditions ”.
Listing guarantees a meeting, but does not guarantee when. Residents will be notified when one becomes available.
And when someone gets a first dose, the second dose is “automatically reserved for them,” Rupp said. “These second doses will not be affected by anyone receiving a first dose, whether it is another 70 plus or someone 65 plus.”
How to get vaccinated at Smith’s Food & Drug and Walmart pharmacies
Utah seniors who already have immunization schedules through their local or regional health department should keep them, Henderson noted.
But others may turn to certain Smith’s Food & Drug and Walmart pharmacies, which will start delivering the vaccine next week.
In stores, only those over the age of 70 will be eligible by the end of February. (Pharmacies will not vaccinate health workers and school staff who are currently eligible.)
(Those who do not have internet access can call 866-211-5320.)
Registration for appointments will begin either Tuesday or Wednesday; the goal is to start “kicking” on Thursday.
“Just to make sure we don’t promise doses we don’t have yet, we wait to receive them” before scheduling meetings, Montuoro said. And the first doses are scheduled to arrive on Monday. “The best thing people can do is monitor the site’s availability starting Tuesday.”
Each participating pharmacy will receive about 100 doses per week, so there will never be a large crowd. “It’s not like a mass clinic,” Montuoro said.
People will be told to arrive on time; will have to confirm the information provided online; get their shot; and then stay socially distant while being monitored for 15 to 30 minutes.
Smith’s, which has already managed fires in Idaho, Nevada and Arizona, knows that “there is a lot of passion and interest in the vaccine,” Montuoro said.
They made people “come to the shops, hoping they could catch them,” Montuoro said. “But we don’t do walk-ins.”
Smith’s will announce which of its locations in Utah will have doses available at the opening of scheduling and will prioritize its locations in rural counties and “service areas in our subway areas,” Montuoro said.
Patients will not be charged for vaccines.
Walmart, which will also administer the vaccines, “did not land on a delivery or activation date,” said spokeswoman Rebecca Thomason. “We expect to launch a comprehensive list of stores involved in the federal launch of vaccines and how state-designated priority groups can make an appointment in the coming weeks.”
What will change on March 1?
On March 1, when the number of Utahns eligible to receive a vaccination increases, no one of any age or group of health conditions will have priority over anyone else.
It is the same model that the state followed in December, Hudachko stressed. For three weeks, hospital workers had priority. But when eligibility was open to all health workers, hospital workers became part of the larger pool.
So, from March 1, “we cannot, within the eligibility group, give priority based on age. It is a kind of first come, first served for the whole age group “, said Montuoro.