Make a New Year's resolution to help end COVID-19 in 2021

COVID-19 vaccines give us another way to help end the pandemic, and Intermountain is working to vaccinate as many caregivers as possible this week. As of January 5, more than 25,000 caregivers have already been vaccinated. The COVID-19 vaccine is not mandated for Intermountain caregivers.

In accordance with guidance from the Utah Department of Health, Intermountain is vaccinating all willing Intermountain and SelectHealth caregivers, members of our medical staff and other affiliated physicians and APPs, clinic staff of our affiliates, and R1, DXC, and Cerner employees—as well as volunteers and current medical, nursing, and other clinical students who work in our facilities. Access information about COVID-19 vaccines and schedule your appointment by using the scheduling links on Intermountain.net (login required) or on IntermountainHealthcare.org (no login). Don’t forward the scheduling links to others. You can be vaccinated without an appointment, but appointments are preferred so we can manage the vaccine supply reliably and avoid wasting doses.

Intermountain will continue to offer vaccines to Intermountain caregivers and healthcare workers when we receive additional supplies, even after we begin vaccinating community members in the next phases of Utah’s vaccination plan.
 
If you’ve been vaccinated, you’ll receive a follow-up email informing you when your second-dose appointment should be scheduled and how to schedule. Only schedule your second-dose appointment through this email, and only schedule your appointment at the same facility where you received your first dose. The second-dose scheduling email will be sent 19 days after the first dose. Second doses will be automatically reserved and guaranteed for everyone who received a first dose. For questions about your second dose, contact your leader or AskHR at 801-442-7547 or AskHR@imail.org. 

Why are we vaccinating all Utah healthcare workers now? Utah Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines recommend vaccinating all healthcare workers now, whether they’re frontline clinicians or support staff. Protecting the entire team with the vaccine, in accordance with CDC and health department guidelines, is critical to maintain the healthiest and safest environment for patients.

The faster we use current supplies, the faster we can begin vaccinating other groups in Utah starting with individuals 75 and older. According to the Utah Department of Health’s vaccine plan, the next group will be people with chronic illness or high risk of hospitalization or death, then Utahns 65 years and older, then all Utahns.

Please refer to our COVID-19 vaccine site for more information about vaccination for caregivers. Also share our public website at Intermountain.com/covidvaccine to learn about vaccine access, timing, safety, effectiveness, and other frequently asked questions.

Leave a comment or question and share your vaccine experience and photos.

1. Vaccines are safe and effective. Access product and safety information from the CDC on the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to learn more.
2. Don't forward the scheduling link(s) to others. We are urgently working on plans to accommodate groups in addition to Intermountain caregivers, medical staff members and their clinic personnel, and partners who work in our facilities, and will support additional groups as soon as we’re able.
3. Caregivers from the same unit, area, or function are encouraged to stagger the days and times that they sign up to receive the vaccine. There is a possibility for 24-48 hours of mild to moderate side effects related to vaccination and we need to make sure we have adequate staff to cover each other and care for patients. Please consult with your leader on dates and times before you schedule your appointment.
4. You will not be eligible to be vaccinated if and while you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or any other illness, are awaiting results of a COVID-19 test, or under a mandated quarantine period for COVID-19. Individuals with any active illness should wait until they are recovered and feeling well before being vaccinated.
5. The CDC reports COVID-19 infection may provide natural immunity for 90 days. If you have tested positive for COVID-19, it is advised to wait at least 90 days before scheduling a COVID-19 vaccination series and Intermountain will not provide vaccines to individuals with a positive COVID-19 test within the previous 90 days. For individuals who fall within the 90-day-positive criteria but already received the first dose of the vaccine series, and had no concerns with side effects or allergies, they can get their second dose from Intermountain at 21 or 28 days after the first dose, per the particular vaccine’s appropriate timeline guidance. For individuals who received the first vaccine and then fell ill with active and confirmed COVID-19, wait to receive the second dose until 90 days after symptoms to avoid infecting others; effective immunity should still occur from prior infection and then from the second dose.
6. On the day of your appointment, bring your smartphone and Employee ID number if applicable. Registration and consent will be completed electronically onsite using a QR code, and additional methods of registration will be available if you don’t have access to a smartphone.Bring your Employee ID number, which you will need to verify your identity in the electronic registration and consent form. Please make sure you have your correct Employee ID number so we accurately track that you have received vaccination and that we can appropriately plan for second doses if needed. Affiliate physicians and APPs and other non-Intermountain caregivers will use their date of birth for identity verification.
7. Plan on being onsite for vaccination for a 15-minute observation period after vaccination. This is similar to observation required after flu shot clinics. Caregivers on clinical units who will begin their shift or return to work at the same facility immediately after vaccination may be observed on their units.
8. Stay empowered to remind others in the vaccine clinic, at work, or out in the community to continue to mask. Whether or not you’re vaccinated, we all must continue to follow all available prevention methods including masking, wearing appropriate PPE, social distancing, and practicing good hand hygiene until healthcare guidance changes.
9. If you want to post to social media about your vaccination experience, make sure everyone in the photo is masked. Ask the vaccine administrator to wear gloves if that makes you feel more comfortable, although gloves are not required by the CDC for vaccine administration. Please also make sure there isn’t any visible personal health information (PHI) in the background and that everyone has given verbal permission to have their photo taken and posted online. If you’d like to reference Intermountain, you can do so by tagging @intermountain on Instagram or Twitter and tagging @intermountainhealthcare on Facebook.
10. The COVID-19 vaccine is not mandated for caregivers. This means you have the option to accept or decline the COVID-19 vaccination during the initial rollout phases. Declining the vaccination at this time will not impact your employment status. Vaccines are encouraged, especially for caregivers at higher risk for exposure and for serious illness if infected.
11. Caregivers who are vaccinated will receive a follow-up email informing them when their second-dose appointment should be scheduled for, and how to schedule. Only schedule your second-dose appointment through this email, and only schedule your second-dose appointment at the same facility where you received your first dose. The second-dose scheduling email will be sent 19 days after the first dose. Second doses will be automatically reserved and guaranteed for each individual who received a first dose. For questions about your second dose, contact your leader, or AskHR for Employee Health.
12. Participate in the CDC’s vaccine safety monitoring program to report any side effects from the vaccine. The CDC’s V-safe tool is smartphone-based and uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health check-ins after you receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Through V-safe, you can quickly tell CDC if you have any side effects after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Learn more here.
13. Whether or not you’re vaccinated, if you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, those symptoms may be from an active infection and not from the vaccine. COVID-19 symptoms, regardless of getting the vaccine, should be evaluated and may result in COVID-19 testing. If you have symptoms like fever, chills, or fatigue, contact AskHR. You should be evaluated for active COVID-19 and may need to be tested and quarantined. If you experience severe or life-threatening symptoms, visit the nearest emergency department or call 9-1-1.
14. If you want to sign up to work a caregiver COVID-19 vaccine clinic shift, sign up using Kronos or by calling AskHR. Clinical and nonclinical shifts are available throughout the week and in the mornings, afternoons, and evenings.

Join the conversation. 

Share your vaccination stories, ask questions, and get answers by connecting with your peers in our Intermountain Yammer COVID-19 community.