SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Utah will open COVID-19 vaccine appointments up to people ages 50 and older on Monday, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox announced during his weekly pandemic briefing Thursday.
Cox also said that Utah residents 18 and older with certain health conditions – diabetes, chronic kidney disease or obesity – can start making vaccine appointments next week. The expansion will mean 700,000 more state residents can be vaccinated, he said.
People with a body mass index of 30 or higher can also be vaccinated. The previous threshold was 40 or higher.
Cox also announced last week that Utah had been approved to get 20,000 doses of the new single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
There have been 507,954 people immunized with one dose and 277,717 people immunized with two doses in Utah, according to state data.
More than 373,000 total virus cases have been reported in Utah, along with 1,965 known deaths, according to state data.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some – especially older adults and people with existing health problems – it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
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Sophia Eppolito is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
