SALT LAKE CITY — Two Utah hospitals have received the first round of COVID-19 vaccine doses and will begin to administer the vaccine Wednesday, Intermountain Healthcare officials said Monday.
The vaccine has already arrived at Intermountain’s LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City and Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, said Dr. Kristin Dascomb, Intermountain Healthcare medical director of infection prevention for employee health. About 2,000 doses arrived at Utah Valley Hospital alone.
Dascomb said the process to prepare the vaccine is underway and it should be ready to be administered by Wednesday afternoon.
In all, five hospitals in Utah are expected to receive COVID-19 vaccines this week. The others are Intermountain Medical Center in Murray and Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George, as well as University Hospital in Salt Lake City, which is overseen by University of Utah Health.
Utah officials say they expect about 154,000 total vaccine doses by the end of the month.
Dr. Eddie Stenehjem, an infectious disease expert for Intermountain Healthcare, called the vaccine the “light of the end of the tunnel” but that people should still follow all COVID-19 protocols because it will take months for everyone to receive the vaccine.
“We all feel this vaccine is safe and effective,” he said.
This story will be updated.
Carter WilliamsMore stories you may be interested in
1st COVID-19 vaccine doses arrive in Utah, will be administered this week /p>