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SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Department of Health announced Monday it is looking to three major health care providers to help expand the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in the state from this week before an increase in allocated vaccines.
Intermountain Healthcare, Nomi Health, and University of Utah Health will all help immunize Utahns as part of the deal with the state.
“These partners will increase our reach statewide. They will be able to offer large-scale vaccination clinics in some areas where we are currently unable to do so,” said Tom Hudachko, spokesperson from the Utah Department of Health. “They have established relationships with many residents of the state who have underlying medical conditions, so we will be counting on them to help these populations.”
Officials from the three health care providers said Monday they also plan to expand their vaccination efforts to locations in Utah starting this week to deal with the growing number of vaccines destined for the state of the Beehive.
Intermountain Healthcare
Intermountain announced seven locations where Utahns who qualify to receive the vaccine can schedule an immunization appointment. They are:
- Logan Regional Hospital
- McKay-Dee Hospital in Ogden
- Park City Hospital
- Riverton Hospital
- St. George Regional Medical Center
- Murray Orthopedic Specialty Hospital (TOSH)
- Utah Valley Hospital
All seven sites will offer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week, said Dr Kristin Dascomb, medical director of infection prevention for the health of Intermountain Healthcare employees. The Utah Valley Hospital will also provide the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Anyone eligible for the vaccine can make an appointment by going to the Intermountain website. Anyone with questions are encouraged to call 887-777-7061.
Nomi Health
Nomi Health has entered into an agreement with the Larry H. Miller group to organize immunization clinics at Megaplex theaters in parts of Utah.
Their operational clinics include Megaplex locations in:
- Lehi, Utah County: 2935 N. Thanksgiving Way
- Vineyard, Utah County: 600 N. Mill Road
- West Valley City, Salt Lake County: 3601 S. 2400 West
- South Jordan, Salt Lake County: 3761 W. Parkway Plaza Drive
Nomi Health’s medical director Dr June Steely said the organization plans to add a location in Centerville starting Thursday and other locations closer to Logan next week.
It also has the capacity to organize “pop-up clinics” with the capacity to distribute 250 vaccines per day through this method, she said. These locations will be determined through agreements with the county health services.
Utahns who qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine can register for one from Nomi Health through a web page set up by the state. Anyone needing help registering online can call 801-704-5911, Steely added.
U. of Utah Health
The University of Utah Health can currently vaccinate people in two places:
- University of Utah Hospital near Salt Lake City University Campus
- Redwood Health Center at 1525 W. 2100 South in Salt Lake City
The organization plans to expand its sites to health centers in Farmington, South Jordan and Sugar House next week, according to Dr. Richard Orlandi, chief medical officer of Ambulatory Health at the University of Utah.
Anyone qualified to receive the vaccine based on their medical records should have received an invitation to make an appointment in their MyChart account. The healthcare provider was also trying to expand email, text and phone calls invitations, Orlandi said.
About 10% of the state’s total population has received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the state’s health department. The partnerships announced Monday will not replace existing vaccine deployment locations, such as those announced by local health departments or at various pharmacies across the state.
Monday’s announcement came as the first doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine were due to arrive in Utah this week. The Utah Department of Health expected 122,000 total doses of the first and second vaccines to arrive this week, adding the doses from the new drug maker.
Hudachko said the health department expects its allocation of top-notch Moderna vaccines to double next week and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to “more than double” because the two drugmakers increased their supply.
This story will be updated.
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