Intermountain Healthcare Announces Support and Preparation for Offering COVID-19 Vaccines to More People

Intermountain Healthcare today announced its support and preparation to expand COVID-19 vaccinations for more Utahns. Utah officials have announced plans to lower the age requirement on March 1 to 65 and to include adults with certain medical conditions, as recommended by the CDC. Utah is currently vaccinating individuals age 70 and older, healthcare professionals, first responders, and K-12 educators.

With nearly half of the state’s 70+ population now vaccinated, and more and new vaccines becoming available soon, Intermountain is eager for timetables to speed up. Expansion of the age and condition criteria will make tens of thousands more Utahns eligible for vaccination, which is vital to combating the pandemic.

“We don’t want any vaccine sitting unused, and more doses are becoming available soon, so we are supportive of accelerating the process by making vaccines available to more people,” said Mark Briesacher, MD, senior vice president and chief physician executive at Intermountain. “Vaccination clinics for those age 70+ have started to see more unfilled appointments, so expanding eligibility is a prudent course of action.”

“The Utah Department of Health has done a very good job with vaccine distribution,” said Dr. Briesacher. “In fact, the state is ranked #4 nationally in the percentage of distributed vaccines that have been administered.”

Individuals wanting to get vaccinated should check their eligibility at the Utah Department of Health website and to see when vaccination clinics are available in their area.

Over the coming months, Intermountain will also be supporting the state’s vaccination efforts and local health departments by deploying more than 1,000 healthcare workers throughout Utah to assist with community vaccination clinics. In coordination with local health departments who schedule community vaccination clinics, Intermountain has hosted several vaccination events at its facilities.

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