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How some are finding vaccine appointments in days, while others wait weeks

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SALT LAKE CITY — While many people are complaining of having to wait weeks to get a COVID-19 appointment, others have found success searching in places beyond local health departments.

Many people have found success through "VaccineFinder" , where you can search for vaccines in your area.

Individuals can also make an appointment through local health departments, healthcare providers or pharmacies.

Read: Utah teens excited to get COVID-19 vaccine, hopeful that life will return to 'normal' soon

Lissa Davies was hopeful she could get a vaccine quickly when her age bracket opened up, unfortunately she, like many others, saw appointments a few weeks out at her local health department. Someone in a Facebook group mentioned CNS cares, so Daviess said she decided to check it out and was able to make a same day appointment.

“We were both really surprised because we actually had an appointment but was with Davis Health Department down at the county fair grounds and it was for two weeks,” she said.

Andy Cupp was facing a similar issue in Salt Lake County; his friends did as well, he said.

Read: Cox receives vaccine, says Utah on path to eliminate health restrictions by July

“They weren’t able to find it through the county or through any of the private providers because they didn’t have any openings,” he said.

Instead, Cupp tried Nomi Health and was able to get a vaccine quickly. Being vaccinated means getting a normal life back, Cupp said.

“The stress and the anxiety every day of what if I get sick, what if my partner gets sick, what if my parents get sick,” he said.

Read: Doctors warn against waiting to get COVID-19 Vaccine

A spokesperson for the Salt Lake County Health Department released this statement, urging people to cancel appointments if they find others elsewhere:

“If you secure an earlier vaccine appointment somewhere, please be sure to cancel any other appointments you have so other people can book those appointment slots. A “no-show” to an appointment does not waste vaccine, but it does waste a vaccine opportunity for someone else. The VaccinateUtah registration system allows you to cancel or reschedule your own appointment at your convenience (or you can call 385-468-7468), so there’s no excuse for being a no-show and preventing another Utahn from being vaccinated at that appointment time.”

Click on the health department links or call the phone numbers below to register for a vaccination:

Utah Department of Health: 1-800-456-7707

Bear River Health Department (Box Elder, Cache, and Rich counties)

Central Utah Public Health Department (Juab, Millard, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, and Wayne counties)