CORONAVIRUS
Non-First Responder Medical Workers Vaccinated At Mass Clinic In Ogden
Jan 5, 2021, 7:34 PM | Updated: 7:53 pm
OGDEN, Utah – Hundreds of volunteers in Weber County have been vaccinating thousands of people during the coming weeks and months. Vaccine supply could be holding them back from helping more people, faster.
The plan was to vaccinate close to 1,000 people per day at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, but officials said the distribution rates of the vaccines to Utah could slow that down really quick, if it doesn’t pick up.
The focus Tuesday was on non-hospital healthcare workers.
Tricia Scott, who works in a pediatrician’s office, said though the wait has been less than a year, it feels like it’s been much, much longer.
“It seems like forever, and so I just think it’s a miracle that they’ve already come out with this vaccine, and that they’re giving them now,” Scott said.
Close to 1,000 people will get vaccinated for COVID-19, at the Dee Events Center today. This is the start of what is expected to be a months-long effort to help rollout the vaccines. First responders, and volunteers from the nursing program at @WeberStateU are helping. @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/Vo8vBBu8T1
— Mike Anderson (@mikeandersonKSL) January 5, 2021
It has been a months-long wait, but many of the people getting inoculated come into contact with COVID-positive patients on a regular basis.
“We’ve had patients that have passed away,” said Lisa Graham, a receptionist at a doctor’s office. “I just want to be able to protect my family and my friends, and the people I’m around.
Volunteer first-responders and nursing students at Weber State University have been making the mass vaccination event happen, giving the shots. They have been constrained by supply.
“We’re in this for a marathon, really for the next six months,” said Brian Bennion, Director of the Weber-Morgan Health Department.
Bennion said they get about 1,300 doses a week. With the capability to give nearly a thousand doses a day, he said there’s more they could do – if they get more vaccines.
The hope was that supply will catch up, so that more people can get the chance.
They were still in phase one of their effort, so shots are invitation-only for now. The plan was to keep the mass clinic going until the vaccine starts showing up in local drug stores, and can get it there.
