Government Spencer Cox announced Thursday that Utah’s next wave of COVID-19 vaccinations will begin, with people 65 and older and people with serious and chronic health conditions.
The groups form about 400,000 Utahns, Cox said during the state’s weekly COVID-19 media conference, and the state should be ready for the influx when increased shipments of the vaccine arrive from now until April.
The federal government announced Tuesday that it will send an additional 5% of its current vaccine allocation to Utah – in addition to the 16% increase announced last week, Cox said. That’s a total of about 42,000 doses this week, plus another 8,000 doses that the state has recovered from federal partners.
Utah plans to receive another 33,000 doses of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine per week by the end of March, Cox said. Another 84,000 a week of the AstraZeneca version of the vaccine could arrive by April, Cox said.
This volume ‘just changes the ball game for all of us and that’s what we’re planning for,’ he said. “This is what we are preparing for.”
The state will spend the rest of February, said Dr. Angela Dunn, state epidemiologist, said to get doses out to people who are already eligible for the vaccine – mainly people aged 70 and older.
According to Cox, Thursday morning said about 35% of Utahns in that age group got their shots. “It’s about 84,000 of you, and it’s just a few weeks away, so we’re well on our way to getting those at greatest risk vaccinated and saving lives,” Cox said.
Cox assured Utahns that people over the age of 70 who are struggling to get a vaccination appointment ‘will be able to’ get it ‘in the coming weeks.
Cox also begged people in the 65-and-older group and people older than 18 with the specified underlying health conditions (see list below), not to call their provincial health departments yet. More information will come from the Utah Department of Health and local health departments over the next few weeks, he said.
Who gets the vaccine next?
Utahns 65 and older, and those over 18 with certain serious and chronic health conditions, may be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on March 1st. Here is a list of those who are eligible for health conditions, according to the Utah Department of Health:
Recipients of solid organ transplants.
• Certain cancers.
• People who have been immunosuppressed (with a weakened immune system) by blood, bone marrow or organ transplants; HIV; long-term use of corticosteroids, or the use of other long-term immunosuppressive drugs.
• Severe kidney disease or dialysis, or with stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease.
• Uncontrolled diabetes.
• Severe obesity (body mass index older than 40).
• Chronic liver disease, including chronic hepatitis B or C.
• Chronic heart disease (not including hypertension).
• Severe chronic respiratory disease (except asthma).
• Neurological conditions affecting respiratory function, including Down syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, quadriplegia or hemiplegia.
• Stroke and dementia (Alzheimer’s, vascular, frontotemporal).
• Asplenia, including splenectomy or a dysfunction of the spleen, including sickle cell disease.
While the state is increasing the spread of vaccinations, Cox said “there will be scheduling issues.”
“In every state, in every country in the world, there will be a bit of chaos to make this happen,” Cox said. “We are going to embrace that chaos, we are going to solve the chaos, and within seven days of receiving the vaccine, we will get shots in the arms and we will save lives.”
Once the broader suitability opens on March 1, Dunn said, the state will rely on the honor system. “If you do not fall into these categories, do not look for a vaccine,” she said.
The faster the state can get through high-risk populations, the faster people at lower risk can get vaccinated, Dunn added.
Utah reached a ‘significant milestone’ in its vaccine deployment on Thursday, Cox said: More vaccine doses have been given to humans than the number of Utahs tested positive for COVID-19.
A total of 362,701 people received at least one dose of the vaccine as of Thursday, and 84,154 people received both doses.
“We’re trying to be more viral than the virus and it’s happening,” Cox said.
Lieutenant General Deidre Henderson said 29 pharmacies from Smith and 18 Walmart locations would receive vaccines in Utah from Feb. 11. Only Utahns over 70 can get vaccines through the locations for now.
“The state actually has control over who is eligible” to get the vaccinations by Walmart and Smith’s, Henderson said.
People who keep appointments through their health departments should keep those appointments, rather than trying to get one through Smith’s or Walmart.
There will be more information on how Utahns can help spread the vaccine in the coming days, Henderson added.
The state has made competitive offers from companies that want to distribute vaccines, Cox said at the news conference – and one bid comes from Nomi Health, the Orem healthcare company that runs TestUtah.
Cox said Nomi was successful in an effort to help a contract distribute vaccines. What Nomi’s job will be remains to be seen, Cox said, but after local health districts, pharmacies and other institutions have used their capacity, Nomi and other ‘partners’ will be asked’ how can you help us close the gap make sure we do not put doses on the shelves? ”
Dunn mentions the importance of Johnson & Johnson’s version of the vaccine, which the Federal Food and Drug Administration can approve for emergency use as early as this month. She said comparisons made in national media between the effectiveness of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and those made by Pfizer and Moderna were ‘misinformed’.
Johnson & Johnson trials have shown that the vaccine is effective in protecting 72% of American individuals against COVID-19 infection and that it is 85% effective against serious diseases, Dunn said.
The Pfizer and Modern vaccines have reported efficiencies of more than 94% – but according to Dunn, this is a bit of an apple-to-orange comparison. Pfizer and Moderna tested their vaccines for symptomatic infection due to COVID-19, while Johnson and Johnson tested the vaccine to prevent moderate to severe illness.
“It’s very important that once the vaccine is available, and then it’s time to take the vaccine, we all get the vaccine,” regardless of the company that manufactures it, Dunn said.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires only one dose, whereas the Pfizer and Moderna versions require two doses, with weeks apart. Dunn says this makes the Johnson & Johnson version ideal for vaccinating people who are homeless. According to her, there are plans to get vaccinations to the groups when they are available.