When it’s time for people to get a second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, they’ll only have a week to claim the assigned dose.
Before people can get their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, they have to wait 3-4 weeks, depending on which vaccine they got.
During his monthly press conference, Gov. Spencer Cox said every second dose in Utah is already pre-assigned.
“Within three weeks to four weeks, people are eligible to get those vaccines, and we have a vaccine for them,” Cox said. “However, we recognize that it is human nature, there will be people that don't show up for their appointments in three weeks or four weeks and may take a little more time.”
He encouraged people to show up for their appointment because the implications of missing the deadline are unclear.
“But what experts have told us is it's not the end of the world. If you miss that deadline,” he said. “As long as you get it sometime over the few weeks after that, you'll be fine.”
But if people don’t come to claim their dose, he said they don’t want them to go to waste, which is why the state has decided to release those rights after seven days.
However, even if a person doesn’t claim their assigned dose, they’ll still be able to get full immunization.
“It doesn't mean you've lost your chance or your place in line, just schedule and come in there will be a second dose for you,” he said. “That same thing will happen every week, there's just a certain percentage of people who won't show up on time to get their second dose.”
Cox said unused second doses will be repurposed as first doses.
