SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – COVID vaccinations have caused questions for everyone, but after all the waiting, you finally get your first shot. Now you need one more dose.

The appointment is scheduled, and you missed getting it! What do you do now? Will you have to take two more shots? Probably not. Here’s what the Utah Department of Health says:

“You should get your second shot as close to the recommended 3-week or 1-month interval as possible. However, there is no maximum interval between the first and second doses for either vaccine. You should not get the second dose earlier than the recommended interval.”

What is important is that you get your shots.

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout is picking up throughout Utah.

Current vaccine doses are available for healthcare workers, long-term care facility staff, residents, first responders, ages 70 and older, K-12 teachers, and school staff.

Starting March 1, 2021, COVID-19 vaccines will be made available for Utahns 65 and older as well as those with certain underlying health conditions. 

“We are trying to be more viral than the virus,” Gov. Cox shares. 

Utah has now administered more COVID-19 doses than the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the state. Looking forward to March and April, Gov. Cox says it’s looking better than he thought it would. 

FILE – In this Jan. 9, 2021, file photo, vials of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are placed next to a loaded syringe in Throop, Pa. (Christopher Dolan/The Times-Tribune via AP, File)

The Health Department adds:

“Both COVID-19 mRNA vaccines will need 2 shots to get the most protection. The timing between your first and second shot depends on which vaccine you received. You should get your second shot:”

  • for the Pfizer-BioNTech 3 weeks (or 21 days) after your first shot,
  • for the Moderna 1 month (or 28 days) after your first shot.

So if you miss your second shot appointment, get back as soon as you can. There has not been a maximum interval established at this point.

The Health Department adds, “Long story short, get the vaccine as close to the 21 or 28 days timeframe as you can BUT NOT BEFORE that time.”

If you are looking for more information about the Coronavirus, you can read and watch ABC4’s news continuing news coverage about the pandemic and also visit Utah’s coronavirus website.