What You Need to Know
UPDATED: 1/14
It could be months until vaccines are available for the general public. Now is the time to learn about the vaccine, ask questions, and understand whether and when a vaccination might be right for you. As we find our way out of the pandemic, keep masking, social distancing, and practicing other prevention behaviors so we can keep ourselves and each other safe and healthy. Vaccines could:
- Prevent you from getting COVID-19 and its risks and complications
- Reduce the number of people infected by COVID-19 throughout the community
- Someday get us back to normal life
When can I get the vaccine?
Currently, supplies of vaccine are being given to healthcare workers, first responders, long-term-care facility residents, and teachers, per the direction of the Utah Department of Health. Following that, people ages 70 and older, then people with chronic illness, other risk groups either by age or condition to be determined, and then the general population will be vaccinated. Most healthy adults should have access to a COVID-19 vaccine between April and July 2021. Find information about access in Utah from local health departments. Also access Idaho’s vaccine plans, and Nevada’s vaccine plans.
Where can I get the vaccine?
If you are in a group that is currently recommended to get the vaccine, go to your local health department website to make an appointment (access the websites for Utah, Idaho, and Nevada). If all the appointments are full, keep checking back as more appointments will become available as more vaccine is shipped to the states.
When COVID-19 vaccines are available to the general public, individuals may be able to access them from local health departments as well as hospital facilities, clinics, select pharmacies, community and public health centers, and physician offices.
What can I do until vaccines are widely distributed?
Support all other prevention methods. Masking, social distancing, and hand hygiene should be followed for vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals until healthcare guidance changes. We don’t yet know how long vaccines will be effective, so all prevention methods should be followed.
COVID-19 Vaccination Support
Intermountain is continually updated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local, state, and national health and infection prevention experts about the safety, effectiveness, availability, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
The CDC provides clinical guidance on vaccines in the US and determines how people should be prioritized based on risk and need. The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) formed a team including Intermountain leaders to develop a distribution plan based on CDC recommendations. Idaho and Nevada have similar distribution plans and structures. Health departments are estimating all individuals who want COVID-19 vaccines may be able to get them by summer 2021.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are COVID-19 vaccines safe?
Read more about the FDA’s process for authorizing or approving vaccines.
Do COVID-19 vaccines have any side effects?
The FDA and CDC have not reported any serious adverse events from vaccines under development. As with any vaccine, there may be mild side effects like slight pain, swelling, or redness at the site of injection; mild fever; chills; feeling tired; headache; and muscle and joint aches. Information about the side effects of a specific COVID-19 vaccine will be available after the vaccine is approved by the FDA. Side effect information will be shared prior to vaccination to ensure each person can make an informed decision based on the known risks and benefits of the vaccine.
How are COVID-19 vaccines being rolled out so quickly?
The CDC and other national organizations partnered to form Operation Warp Speed, an initiative to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccine program safely. Usually, it takes years to deliver a new vaccine, but Operation Warp Speed drastically reduced that timeframe to just months. The key has been to work on several things – developing, testing, and manufacturing – all at once, rather than in the traditional way of waiting until one step in the process is complete before starting another one.
Are COVID-19 vaccines effective?
A vaccine must be at least 50 percent effective (reduces the risk of infection by one half) for it to be granted FDA authorization. Another way to say this is: you are half as likely to become infected compared to those who are not vaccinated. Any level of effectiveness can help slow the spread. Some COVID-19 vaccines in development may be around 95 percent effective.
How much will the COVID-19 vaccine cost?
Individuals will not have to pay anything for the vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines will be distributed by the federal government at no cost to Intermountain, insurance plans, or to patients. A vaccine administration fee may be charged to insurance or, for uninsured patients, will be reimbursed by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Provider Relief Fund.
If I get vaccinated for COVID-19 what does that mean for me?
People who are vaccinated and who are not vaccinated will still need to follow prevention methods including masking, social distancing, hand hygiene, and getting tested for COVID-19 if experiencing symptoms or exposure — until healthcare guidance changes. Prevention methods will help protect you and others from illness. We need to learn more about how long immunity lasts from vaccination and understand how many people in the community vaccinate before safely returning to any pre-pandemic ways of life.
Why do we need COVID-19 vaccines?
The way out of the pandemic is to build herd immunity. Herd immunity happens when a large portion of a community (the “herd”) becomes immune to a disease, making person-to-person spread of illness unlikely. This helps protect the whole community. With COVID-19, we’re seeing that people who are infected lose their immunity three to nine months after having the virus, making herd immunity without a vaccine almost impossible. If COVID-19 vaccines are found to be safe, effective, and long-lasting, vaccines could be our way to successfully achieve herd immunity.
How do COVID-19 vaccines work?
Vaccines help the body develop immunity by training the immune system to recognize and remember how to respond to the disease-causing part of a virus. Vaccines traditionally contain weakened or inactivated (killed) viruses or purified, signature proteins of viruses.
In the COVID-19 response, some manufacturers are making vaccines in new ways, using messenger RNA (mRNA). mRNA vaccines “teach our cells to make a protein, or a piece of a protein, that triggers an immune response inside our bodies,” according to the CDC. “That immune response, which produces antibodies, is what protects us from getting infected if the real virus enters our bodies.” An mRNA vaccine does not include live virus and cannot give someone COVID-19. Nor do these vaccines interact with our own DNA in any way. Instead, our cells break down and get rid of the mRNA after it receives the “instructions.”
Should people who were COVID-19 positive and recovered, or who are currently COVID-19 positive get a vaccine?
Individuals with any active illness should wait until they are recovered and feeling well before being vaccinated. Because we don’t yet know how long immunity or antibodies to the COVID-19 virus will last, we recommend that individuals vaccinate for COVID-19 even if they were previously positive.
Does Intermountain require COVID-19 vaccines for its staff?
COVID-19 vaccines will not be mandatory for Intermountain caregivers at this time. Personal protective equipment (PPE), safety, and sanitation protocols continue to support infection prevention for patients, visitors, and caregivers.
Should pregnant women get a COVID-19 vaccine?
The vaccines being evaluated currently have not been tested or trialed among pregnant women. The CDC does not state whether vaccines are currently safe, effective, or advised for pregnant women. Pregnant women have the choice to be vaccinated before any clinical trials have been conducted and are also encouraged to participate in clinical trials for safety and monitoring, especially if in the early trimesters.
Should children and adolescents get a COVID-19 vaccine?
The CDC's advisory committee recommended the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people age 16 and over in the United States, stating they found it was safe and effective. The vaccines currently have not been tested among individuals 15 and younger. The CDC does not state whether vaccines are currently safe, effective, or advised for individuals 15 and younger, and Intermountain will advise that these age groups do not get a COVID-19 vaccine until the CDC provides safety assurance and guidelines for children and young adolescents.