The COVID-19 vaccine has reached Tooele County.
The first COVID-19 vaccinations given in Tooele County were administered to Mountain West Medical Center staff on Monday morning. The Tooele County Health Department followed vaccinations for their healthcare workers Tuesday morning.
The second dose of the vaccine will be given 28 days after the first dose was received.
A total of 85 employees at the hospital were given Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine on Monday, which has proven to be 94% effective in preventing COVID-19.
Becky Trigg, marketing director and public information officer for Mountain West Medical Center, said that the hospital has 450 staff members and they plan to vaccinate all members of staff, whether paid or volunteers, who want the vaccination, but it will take all week.
Dr. Megan Shutts-Karjola, chief of staff for Mountain West Medical Center, left, smiles under her mask as medical assistant Erin Bowser prepares her Moderna COVID-19 vaccination at the medical center in Tooele on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020. The medical center has received 500 doses of the vaccine, which is enough for all of the staff to receive their first round of shots.
Steve Griffin, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY COVID-19 vaccines will be available for Utahns 75 and older but there won’t be any more essential workers moved up in line once the second phase of distribution begins, likely in mid-February, the Utah Department of Health announced Monday.