Starting next Wednesday, March 24, any individual in Utah who is 16 years or older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Governor Spencer Cox announced made the announcement during the PBS Utah monthly governor’s news conference.
“We have next week about 15% of our doses that are available, have not been scheduled out yet,” Cox said. “So we do have doses available in many health districts.”
The state had originally anticipated opening up eligibility by April 1. Cox said the move was done out of a desire to keep demand ahead of supply to ensure that all doses are used, as well as move forward with the state’s plan of providing an equitable distribution to all Utahns.
“We’re also concerned about the equity piece; about hard-to-reach populations,” Cox said. “When we go into those places, we want to be able to vaccinate everyone. That’s the best way to do that.”
Cox asked Utahns to be patient and recognize that it may still take a few weeks to get an appointment as vaccine supplies are limited. Utahns are also encouraged to wait and be patient as providers adjust their systems and protocols to the new eligibility.
You can watch the entire news conference here.
Where Can I Get an Appointment?
- Our Vaccine Distribution page has information on where to get an appointment. Information is categorized by provider type (Health Departments, Healthcare Providers, and Pharmacies).
- VaccineFinder.org is another site, maintained by the federal government where people can search for appointments by vaccination type.
- If you live between along the Wasatch Front (between Vineyard and Centerville) and are having a hard time finding an appointment, you may also try GetMyShot.Utah.gov. This site tracks mobile vaccination clinics and often has more availability.
We’ll continue to work on making it easier for you both to get an appointment and to find available appointments.
Things to keep in mind about getting the vaccine.
Appointments may be hard to find so please don’t get discouraged and keep trying. Each health department and provider receives different amounts of vaccines. Currently, Utah is receiving 67,000 prime doses each week, but by the end of March, we anticipate receiving more than 90,000 doses each week and we hope for increases from the federal government after that.
If you’ve already had one dose of a two-dose vaccine, please get the second dose at the same place where you got your first dose. The provider who gave you your first dose reserved a second dose for you. If you don’t return to the same place, that provider will end up with unused doses or not enough second doses for people when they need it at some locations.
Vaccines are free. You may be asked for insurance information, but you don’t need insurance to be vaccinated.
You don’t have to be a U.S. citizen or resident to get the vaccine. You may be asked for some kind of identification. This is used by providers for reporting. But you do not need to prove citizenship to get a vaccine.
Don’t forget that Utah’s mask mandate is still in effect until April 10. Even after that date, masks can still be required for gatherings of 50 or more people. Private businesses can also still require masks after this date. And the school mask mandate won’t go away until July at the latest.
We’re making incredible progress in the fight against the pandemic! More than 1 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in Utah. Our 7-day rolling average for cases is the lowest it’s been since September 13. That was the last time we were under 500 cases per day. Almost our entire population now lives in moderate or low transmission counties. We’re getting there together! Thanks for doing your part.