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CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
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We A r e S a n p e t e . c o m
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 • Vol. 130, No. 10 • Free
Sanpete County residents receive shot BY GLORIA ALBRECHT
The Pyramid
Fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic has been frustrating for most Utahns and heartbreaking for some. Now, over a year after the first Americans tested positive, COVID vaccines have become available to help put an end to this deadly pandemic. Many residents of Sanpete County eagerly awaited their turn to get vaccinated as short supplies of vaccines limited availability to essential health care workers, first responders, and finally to seniors 70 and over. As availability of vaccines increased in late February, Gov. Spencer Cox pushed up the timeline to make the vaccine available for seniors 65 and over, giving them an opportunity to get vaccinated more than a week earlier than expected. Now,
it has just been announced that citizens 50 years and older will be eligible to register for a COVID vaccine starting March 8. Vaccination sites in Sanpete County have expanded to meet the growing demand, which is good news. For the most part registration for a vaccine is done online regardless of the provider and location. Once registered, citizens can expect a phone call from the vaccine provider to set up an appointment. For those who have registered and are awaiting their appointment, be aware that your phone may not recognize the number of the caller who is reaching out to you to get you scheduled for a shot. Answering “unknown callers” may be necessary for a short time.
Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during the weekly COVID-19 briefing at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on March 4. KRISTIN MURPHY, DESERET NEWS
Please see VACCINE, Page A2
LDS CHURCH
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
Health Department administers vaccines Pandemic
has focused missionaries on service BY GENELLE PUGMIRE
The Pyramid
GLORIA ALBRECHT, THE PYRAMID
ABOVE: The Central Utah Health Department staff, along with 6 volunteers, vaccinates seniors 65 and up at the Mt. Pleasant Fire Station drive thru clinic on March 4. BELOW: Mt. Pleasant Fire Department trucks parked outside the fire station to accommodate the CUHD vaccine clinic. BY GLORIA ALBRECHT
The Pyramid
Driving down Main Street in Mt. Pleasant on Thursday morning looks a little different these days. Starting at 9 a.m., a line of cars forms on the south side of Main Street and disappears into the Mt. Pleasant Fire Station, exiting on the other side of the station. On 100 West, between Main Street and 100 South, Mt. Pleasant’s fire apparatus are lined up across the street, displaced by the historic events taking place inside the fire sta-
tion. When the line of cars exits the fire station, they wait for the mandatory fifteen minutes before heading off. The event is the Central Utah Health Department COVID vaccine clinic. The seniors who are on the line do not mind waiting in queue for the shot. After over a year of social distancing, cancelled events, staycations, and the great mask controversy, Utahns are ready to move on. The COVID vaccine is a steppingstone in that direction.
With the onset of COVID-19, missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have learned that serving a mission is more than just knocking on doors. They have opened their hands and hearts and have found ways to serve their neighbors in the areas they are assigned to, while engaging in projects that promote the common good. One area that is a shining example of what can be done in spite of a pandemic is in the Bay Area of California, according to LDS Church information. Take, for example, the food bank Second Harvest of Silicon Valley and the missionaries that serve there. It has fed some 500,000 hungry Californians every month — double the demand it had prior to the pandemic. “It is an absolutely Herculean task to serve our community with this high need,” said Cat Cvengros, the food bank’s vice president of development and marketing. “There’s no way we could have doubled our business in that short amount of time had we not had everyone pitch in. Our volunteers make up about 40% of our workforce. When shelterin-place went into effect (in March 2020), we lost that. And we had double the folks that needed us. So how (were) we going to navigate that?” Cvengros said that ability came thanks to consistent support from helpers such as missionaries in the California San Jose Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Please see CLINIC, Page A2 Please see MISSIONARIES, Page A8
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