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Rulers 50 and older can begin making appointments to receive COVID-19 vaccines on Monday, Gov. Spencer Cox announced Thursday.
He also said that younger adult Utahns with certain health conditions can seek vaccine. These new conditions are diabetes, type 1 or type 2, obesity with a BMI index of 30 or higher and anyone with chronic kidney disease.
Cox made the announcement at his weekly media conference COVID-19, broadcast by Facebook Live from the Utah Capitol.
“That’s a big addition to eligibility,” Cox said. “Which means it won’t be possible for everyone in these areas to get an appointment right away,” he added. People “will have to be patient, they will have to keep checking.”
He asked newly elected Utahns to wait until Monday to make appointments.
In April, Cox said, the state hopes to be able to open vaccines to all adults in Utah, “assuming everything goes according to plan.”
The news comes a day after Utah hospitals began receiving shipments of the unique Johnson & Johnson vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Saturday for emergency use.
Prior to Thursday, Utahns age 65 or older could receive the vaccine, along with people over the age of 18 with certain serious or chronic medical conditions, health workers, first aid, teachers and residents, and long-term care center staff.
Cox announced that six counties – Cache, Davis, Grand, Salt Lake, Sanpete and Wasatch – will move into the state’s “moderate” transmission categories. They join seven other counties that were previously part of the “moderate” category.
“There are no restrictions on meetings in ‘moderates,'” Cox said, “as long as they wear masks.”
Cox also said he wanted to “reflect on the fact that we have lost nearly 2,000 Utahns to this insidious disease.”
Cox said a year ago he asked the state epidemiologist, Dr. Angela Dunn, to what extent she could suffer from the pandemic. The worst case scenario, Dunn told Cox, was that 20,000 Utahns died from COVID-19; the best the state could expect was 2,000 dead.
“We are very grateful and excited that we are at our best,” Cox said.
Dunn urged the Utahns to accept any of the three vaccines offered to them, while seeking appointments. “The best vaccine that can be obtained is the one that can be obtained first, regardless of the manufacturer,” he said.
This story is being developed and will be updated.