SALT LAKE CITY – Leaders in Utah said they were inundated with questions from doctors as well as non-medical professionals about how they could help the state in the weeks after the COVID-19 vaccination began.
Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson gave an answer to these questions on Thursday. She reveals the state’s volunteer action ‘call to action’ that enables people with professional medical backgrounds to administer COVID-19 shots and people without the expertise to help in other ways.
“We need a lot of people, and we need medical professionals and others who can help and who want to help,” she said.
Anyone interested in volunteering can do so by going to UtahResponds.org. There they can register in the nationwide volunteer register used to organize volunteers. The site is open to all Utahns, regardless of whether they have professional skills.
After registering, he or she can glaze professional data and receive volunteer assignments at local health departments and emerging vaccination clinics across the country. The site also enables people to see where volunteers are needed.
“We ask that people who want to help please sign up and are willing to work shifts for at least four hours,” Henderson said. “Please know that this does not mean that you are eligible for a vaccine just because you sign up to volunteer.”
The lieutenant governor said there was an “immediate need” for volunteers qualified to administer vaccines or monitor individuals after receiving their shot. The group includes everyone who has received a medical license from the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, the Utah Nursing Assistant Registry and the Utah Department of Health’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness.
The list of people who are eligible for the need includes:
- Doctors
- Registered nurses, licensed practical nurses or nurses
- Temporary graduate nurses or temporary registered nursing students
- Paramedics or advanced EMTs
- Certified Nursing Assistants
- Podologists
- Pharmacists, pharmacists-practitioners or pharmacists
- Medical assistants or medical assistants
- Certified Patient Assistants or Certified Nurse Midwives
- Respiratory therapists
- Dentists or dentists
- Optometrists
- Physical therapists or physical therapy assistants
- Occupational therapists or occupational therapy assistants
Henderson said that if someone within the list occupations is not currency-certified to administer vaccines, the state will work with them to get certified as quickly as possible.
If you do not have medical expertise, there are still ways to help. Henderson said the state will still need volunteers for traffic control, data entry and security. Details of all the roles Utah is asking for were posted on the state’s coronavirus website Thursday.
“It may take a few weeks before we use you, as we get these clinics across the country, but we can use vaccinations immediately,” Henderson said. “We need you. We desperately need you, and that’s the bright shining light at the end of the dark tunnel.”
Governor Spencer Cox had earlier indicated that a volunteer program would be launched, especially by the time the state expects to receive more vaccinations and take in more people from March.
He added that an enormous amount of planning was needed to ensure that the increasing amount of vaccines reached the guns of every adult in Utah who wanted one, and therefore they knew they would need all the help. The state has developed a skill to volunteer, and the governor said he appreciates anyone who has already reached out to ask how they can help.
“We are grateful for the incredible volunteers we have in this state,” Cox said. “We will need you. We will need a lot of you. We will need to coordinate it in a way that makes sense and that we can use the volunteer workforce we have here in the state.”