Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Now Available In Utah
Mar 4, 2021, 5:20 AM | Updated: 6:10 am
MURRAY, Utah – Health care workers will begin administering doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to Utahns on Thursday.
Shipments of the vaccine made it to the state Wednesday.
Immunizations using the single-shot vaccine will be available at select clinics across the state.
Nomi Health is holding a clinic at the Megaplex Centerville, and Intermountain Healthcare is distributing J&J vaccines at clinics in Logan, Ogden, Murray, Riverton, Park City, Provo and St. George.
Officials at University of Utah Health said they’ll begin using the new vaccine on March 8.
More than 900,000 vaccines have been shipped to Utah – and nearly 769,000 of those vaccines have already gone into arms. As the state nears 1 million vaccines being shipped, optimism is growing that life can get back to normal sooner rather than later.
President Joe Biden announced that all adults should be able to get their first dose of the vaccine – or their only dose of the vaccine if they’re getting the J&J version – before the end of May. That’s two months earlier than previously expected.
Gov. Spencer Cox said he also expects most Utahns who want the vaccine will be able to get it by early May.
State epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn is optimistic, too. However, she said she wants to make sure Utah crosses the finish line.
“My preference is that the masks are the very last thing to go after we have herd immunity, after a vaccine is available to all Utahns, and after we see a drop in cases even lower than we have now,” she said.
Dunn added that if residents stop taking protective measures too early, case numbers could surge again – especially as people around the country are fending off variants of the virus.
While other states like Texas have made the decision to lift mask mandates, Dunn said Utah still needs to see lower transmission rates, percents of positivity and hospitalizations.
