The Salt Lake County Health Department (SLCoHD) has expanded availability of the COVID vaccine to county residents. Open now and operating through Jan. 30, 2022, the department will offer COVID vaccination on weekends at additional sites within the county. Residents can find all available vaccine sites at the department’s website, slco.org/health/COVID-19/vaccine/

Dr. Angela Dunn, executive director of SLCoHD, has challenged vaccinated adults who live or work in Salt Lake County to receive their recommended booster and encouraged children and unvaccinated people to complete the initial vaccine series by Feb. 1, 2022.

“The omicron variant appears to be more transmissible than previous variants and it has caused increased hospitalizations in South Africa,” said Dunn. “Being fully vaccinated — plus booster, if applicable — is the best way to prevent yourself from being hospitalized from COVID. Our hospitals cannot handle another surge of COVID patients.”

SLCoHD’s expanded vaccine clinics join numerous other opportunities to be vaccinated in the community, including the department’s pop-up clinics in under-resourced communities each week, local pharmacies and mass vaccination sites operated by Community Nursing Services and Nomi Health. All sites except pharmacies allow people to attend without an appointment, though SLCoHD recommends people make appointments to decrease their wait time. Pop-up community clinics operate without appointments. All sites offer both adult and pediatric vaccine doses, plus boosters.