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COVID-19 Vaccine Should Be Available To Utah Healthcare Workers Next Month

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The COVID-19 vaccination may be available to healthcare workers as early as December.

“I’m estimating how much of the vaccine we’ll receive, it could be somewhere around 100,000 doses in the beginning," Rich Lakin said. "Again, don’t hold me to that, but that’s kind of the indication that we have."

Lakin is the immunization program manager at the Utah Department of Health, and presented the phases of Utah’s vaccination plan at a Wednesday health and human services meeting. 

The first phase will involve five Utah hospitals with the highest response to COVID-19 receiving the vaccine. Most Utah residents can expect a vaccination by July.

The three phase system is planned to administer vaccinations according to greatest need and availability of doses. 

The hospitals who have the highest amount of COVID-19 patients that will receive the vaccine first are the Intermountain Medical Center, Utah Valley Regional Hospital, LDS Hospital, Dixie Regional Medical Center and University of Utah Hospital. 

“If those hospitals receive it the second week of December, we’re hoping that the additional 30 hospitals will be able to receive it just shortly after that, maybe two weeks after if we’re lucky and we get everything completed," Lakin said.

Lakin said the plan may change as more doses become available.

“We don’t know exactly how much vaccine we have and I think that’s a key perspective that we need to keep here is that with limited doses, obviously it’s going to limit how fast we can move the vaccine," he said.

Lakin said for long term care residents, they can expect to get vaccinated during phase two, which will be approximately February through March timeframe.