Utahns between the ages of 65-69 and anyone 18 or older with the following medical conditions are eligible to receive the vaccine starting Monday, March 1.
Individuals in these groups SHOULD NOT call their local health departments or attempt to make appointments right now.
Local health departments are currently focused on vaccinating people older than 70. Trying to contact local health departments right now could slow that process down and delay vaccine availability for future groups.
Public announcements will be made when registration opens for these groups later this month.
Medical conditions:
- Solid organ transplant recipients
- Cancer: non-hematologic diagnosed within last 1 year (excluding basal and squamous cell cancer diagnoses); hematologic diagnosed within last 5 years
- Receiving immunosuppression therapy
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from blood, bone marrow, or organ transplant; HIV; use of corticosteroids long-term; or use of other immune weakening medicines long-term
- Severe kidney disease: on dialysis or with stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease
- Uncontrolled diabetes: patients with an A1c of 9.0 or higher
- People with a BMI of 40 or higher (also known as Class III or severe obesity)
- Chronic liver disease: chronic hepatitis B or C, chronic infective hepatitis (hepatitis B or C), alcohol-related liver disease, primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, or hemochromatosis
- Chronic heart disease (not hypertension): chronic heart failure, ischaemic heart disease, and severe valve or congenital heart disease
- Severe chronic respiratory disease (other than asthma): including severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, fibrosing lung disease, bronchiectasis or cystic fibrosis
- Neurologic conditions that impair respiratory function, including: motor neuron disease, myasthenia gravis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, quadriplegia or hemiplegia, progressive cerebellar disease, epilepsy, Down syndrome
- Stroke and dementia (Alzheimer’s, vascular, frontotemporal)
- Asplenia including splenectomy or a spleen dysfunction, including sickle cell disease
Approximately 400,000 Utah residents will qualify for a COVID-19 vaccine in one of these categories.