Here’s how Utahns 70 and older can get the coronavirus vaccine before March 1

But, from next month, they will no longer be in the lead either.

“They will still be eligible,” Utah Department of Health spokesman Tom Hudachko said, “but [they] will be in the same pool as everyone else. “

This pool will include residents 65 and over and anyone over 18 who suffers from certain chronic or serious illnesses.

But local health departments will focus for the remainder of February on ending vaccine distribution in the arms of people 70 and older, state epidemiologist Dr Angela Dunn said.

And Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson added that 29 Smith pharmacies and 18 Walmart stores will receive doses of the vaccine starting February 11, giving older people alternative routes of vaccination.

Salt Lake City County sets a deadline if you want a guarantee

Seniors who sign up for Salt Lake County’s appointment notification list are guaranteed to line up as more vaccines become available, the Department of Health spokesperson said. Nicholas Rupp – but only if they register before February 28.

“We’re going to schedule their appointments before we schedule appointments for anyone 65 and over,” Rupp said.

For seniors on the notification list, “we’ll schedule them through February and, if necessary, through March,” Rupp said, “before we start scheduling people 65 and over and people younger than those with underlying health problems. ”

Listing guarantees an appointment, but does not guarantee when. Residents will be notified as soon as it becomes available.

And when someone gets a first dose, their second dose is “automatically set aside for them,” Rupp said. “These second doses will not be affected by anyone who receives a first dose, whether it is another 70 and over or a person 65 and over.”

How to get vaccinated at Smith’s Food & Drug and Walmart pharmacies

Seniors in Utah who already have immunization appointments through their local or regional health department should keep them, Henderson noted.

But others may turn to some Smith’s Food & Drug and Walmart pharmacies, which will start providing vaccines next week.

In stores, only those 70 and over will be eligible until the end of February. (Pharmacies will not immunize healthcare workers and school staff who are currently eligible.)

(Those without internet access can call 866-211-5320.)

Registration for appointments will begin Tuesday or Wednesday; the aim is to start the “gunfire” on Thursday.

“Just to be sure that we don’t promise doses that we don’t have on hand yet, we are waiting to receive them” before making any appointments, Montuoro said. And the first doses should arrive on Monday. “The best thing for people to do is monitor website uptime starting Tuesday.”

Each participating pharmacy will receive approximately 100 doses per week, so there will never be a large crowd. “It’s not like a mass clinic,” Montuoro said.

People will be told to arrive on time; they will need to confirm the information they have provided online; get their shot; then sit socially distant while they are watched for 15 to 30 minutes.

Smith’s, who has administered injections in Idaho, Nevada and Arizona in the past, knows that “there is a lot of passion and interest in the vaccine,” Montuoro said.

They had people “come into the stores, hoping they can catch one somehow,” Montuoro said. “But we don’t make a walk-in appointment.”

Smith’s will announce which of its locations in Utah will have doses available when scheduling opens, and it will prioritize its locations in rural counties and “underserved areas in our metropolitan areas,” said Montuoro.

Patients will not be charged for vaccines.

Walmart, which will also administer vaccines, has “not landed on a delivery or activation date,” spokeswoman Rebecca Thomason said. “We plan to release a full list of stores involved in the federal vaccine rollout and how state-designated priority groups can schedule appointments in the coming weeks.”

What will change on March 1?

On March 1, when the number of Utahn eligible for vaccination increases, no one, regardless of age or medical condition, will have priority over anyone else.

It’s the same model the state followed in December, Hudashko said. For three weeks, the hospital caregivers had priority. But when eligibility was opened to all healthcare workers, hospital workers became part of the larger pool.

So as of March 1, “we are not able within the eligibility group to prioritize based on age. It’s kind of first come, first served for the whole age group, ”Montuoro said.