Hundreds of vaccine appointments available this week

Apr 12, 2021, 4:38 PM | Updated: 5:40 pm

Smith’s pharmacist Mark Welch prepares a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine during a vaccination event at a church in Salt Lake City on Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Photo courtesy: Deseret News)

(Photo courtesy: Deseret News)

BY LINDSAY AERTS

KSLNewsRadio

SALT LAKE CITY — Officials from the Utah County Health Department said their department has hundreds of open vaccine appointments available to Utahns this week.

And that’s odd said spokesperson Aislynn Tollman-Hill.

“This is the first time we’ve found ourselves in a position of having, really, any availability once we kind of hit the ‘week of,'” Tollman-Hill told KSL Newsradio.

Utah county typically releases their appointments on Thursday at 7 pm and they often fill quickly.

“Just kind of anecdotally [what] we are kinda feeling as a staff, is maybe a lack of urgency on the part of the public,” she said.

Tollman-Hill said there are at least 700 appointments available at the Spanish Fork vaccination clinic tomorrow (Tuesday). Nearly that amount is available on Wednesday. She said the Provo Clinic also has spots on Thursday, April 15, and more than 600 are available there on Friday.

Tollman-Hill says it’s possible people don’t want to drive to those locations. She also said she thinks it’s a good thing there are multiple providers where people can get vaccinated. But that may be another reason their slots are filling up.

“Maybe people just have more options, it’s just a really hard thing to know,” she said.

You can visit the website of the Utah County Health Department to make a vaccine appointment.

Appointments also available in Weber County

Community Nursing Services also said they have COVID-19 vaccine appointments this Tuesday and Thursday, April 13 and 15, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Wahlquist Jr High as well as at Rocky Mountain Jr High.

Appointments can be scheduled at www.cns-cares.or/covid19 . These are ongoing clinics that happen every Tuesday and Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Salt Lake County Health Department says they don’t have any appointments left in April, although sometimes appointments can pop up on their site when people cancel. A spokesman for the Salt Lake County Health Department said they hope to make vaccines available in May accessible to people by the week of April 23.

Davis County Health Department’s website also showed no appointment availability as of Monday afternoon, although they have also been known to put canceled slots back online.

How To Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 Coronavirus

COVID-19 coronavirus spreads person to person, similar to the common cold and the flu. So, to prevent it from spreading:

Wash hands frequently and thoroughly, with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds.
Don’t touch your face.
Wear a mask to protect yourself and others per CDC recommendations.
Keep children and those with compromised immune systems away from someone who is coughing or sneezing (in this instance, at least six feet).
If there is an outbreak near you, practice social distancing (stay at home, instead of going to the movies, sports events, or other activities).
Get a flu shot.