(VOlunteers giving the vaccine to health care workers in the Dee Events Center. Credit: Mike Anderson, KSL TV)
OGDEN, Utah – The COVID-19 vaccine distribution to health care workers in Weber and Morgan counties is excelling. As more doses of the vaccine come into the state, the Weber-Morgan Health Department opened a vaccination clinic.
Though, the vaccination clinic is not a traditional hospital setting.
The Dee Events Center is known for hosting Weber State University basketball games. However, today, it was the first location to give doses of the vaccine to health care workers in a non-hospital setting.
Weber State University President Brad Mortensen said the school was happy to provide a vaccination location.
“It’s very exciting for us to be able to participate to help get the vaccine in people’s arms and help overcome the pandemic,” Mortensen said.
This isn’t the first time the arena has been used as a gathering place during a community crisis. University Department of Public Safety Director Dane LeBlanc reported it was used to treat people during the H1N1 influenza outbreak.
LeBlanc said, “what you’re seeing here, today, is very similar to what we did with H1N1.”
So far, the COVID-19 vaccine has only been distributed to individuals that have been invited to receive it. Once invited, individuals have a choice to be vaccinated or not.
However, Weber-Morgan Health Department Director Brian Bennion voiced more people will be invited every week as they work to treat people in high-risk groups.
Bennion said, “local health departments received, between us, about 16 thousand doses of the vaccine, and that’s divided by population.”
He believes they’re prepared to vaccinate everyone who wants to be.
“Our allotment is about 1,300 per week for the foreseeable future, for the next few weeks and that’s as far as we can see, but, we anticipate there will be more coming in as more is available,” Bennion reported.
Contributing, Mike Anderson, KSL TV