Provo's Utah Valley Hospital finds itself with open appointment slots for the COVID-19 vaccine, and is opening up to people 70 and over outside of Utah County.
OGDEN â Whitney Hilton, a nurse at McKay-Dee Hospital, understands some people may be leery of getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
âThe skepticism about getting a vaccine is reasonable,â she said. Itâs something new, its development was quick and, for now, it doesnât have a track record like vaccines that have been around for years for other ailments.
That said, after doing the research, reading up on the matter and asking some of the experts at McKay-Dee Hospital, sheâs all in. She got her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, joining front-line health care workers across Utah and around the nation who started getting shots this week. Sheâll need a booster shot but sees vaccination as a way to finally get past the pandemic.
  | Dec. 18, 2020, 1:00 p.m.
Utahâs front-line health care workers are getting the stateâs first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and there are tracking safeguards to make sure no one cuts in line, say state and hospital officials.
Phase 1 of Utahâs distribution plan gives the vaccine to health care workers who are in contact with COVID-19 patients, then staff and residents at long-term care facilities, followed by health care professionals who work outside hospitals.
Dr. Angela Dunn, the state epidemiologist, noted Thursday that the first shipments of the Pfizer vaccine are being delivered directly to hospitals.
And once the boxes are opened, there are tracking requirements put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Under the CDC rules, hospitals must document each individual who receives one of the doses, as providers follow the distribution plan the state has already submitted.