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SALT LAKE CITY – Hospitals will temporarily not receive initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine even if they haven’t finished inoculating all of their employees, the Utah Department of Health has confirmed to FOX 13.
Instead of, under orders from Governor Spencer Cox to speed up vaccination efforts, local health departments and long-term care facilities will receive doses for emergency responders and vulnerable adults.
“As we increase the number of Utah residents who are currently eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, we need to ensure that we receive doses to providers capable of delivering the greatest amounts,” FOX told FOX 13 state health department spokesperson Tom Hudachko. means that over the next several weeks, local health departments and partner pharmacies that vaccinate long-term care facility staff and residents will receive all of the doses Utah can order each week. “
Hospitals have spent the past month vaccinating their health workers, prioritizing those who work directly with COVID-19 patients. But the move means that some hospital workers (who are lower on the priority scale) will now have to wait to be vaccinated.
Intermountain Healthcare said the UDOH decision would not end their second-dose vaccination efforts, which are already underway. About 30,000 health workers have already received this initial dose.
But Intermountain predicted that she would not receive any more initial doses until all employees on the second dose were excited. He did not foresee that the change in state approach would create problems.
“The system seems to be working well,” Intermountain spokesperson Jess Gomez told FOX 13. “We are getting these vaccines out pretty quickly.”
The state’s largest health care system has estimated that means the remaining 10,000 employees will have to wait a few weeks before they can resume the first doses.
The state began offering the COVID-19 vaccine to teachers and staff in Kindergarten to Grade 12 this week. Most local school districts have chosen to start with their older educators. Next week, adults over 70 will be offered the service as the state begins to prioritize based on age and risk. Governor Cox removed ‘essential workers’ from priority list. however, the new governor also pushed for increased vaccination efforts.
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