FILE: Richard Durrant receives his COVID-19 vaccine from Megan Boren, a Salt Lake County Health Department EMT, at the county’s mass vaccination site at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy on Jan. 18, 2021. Photo: Steve Griffin, Deseret News.
Long lines for the COVID-19 vaccination generated a lot of complaints over the weekend in Salt Lake County.
People, many who were over age 70, said they waited in long lines Saturday up to three hours to go through the COVID-19 vaccination process at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy. The Salt Lake County Health Department set up the Expo Center as a vaccination site.
Spokesman Nicholas Rupp said there was a good reason for the delay. Because there were 1,ooo extra vaccine doses, people on the waitlist were called in.
“We knew that would increase wait times that day, one time,” said Rupp, “But we decided it was worth it to vaccinate that many more people and to ensure that vaccine didn’t go to waste.”
Still, Rupp said the Health Department has reconfigured its layout, on the off chance it obtains extra doses again.
Rupp, though, said there were chairs on hand for people in line. He said there were wheelchairs and golf carts for those who needed them. And, there were even proxies to stand in line for those who had to leave to use the restroom.
The health department’s website says as of today, it has set up appointments through the end of the month.
COVID-19 coronavirus spreads person to person, similar to the common cold and the flu. So, to prevent it from spreading:
Utah’s Coronavirus Information
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Utah Coronavirus Information Line – 1-800-456-7707
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention