Anti-coronavirus vaccine banners strewn across overpasses along I-215 and Wasatch Boulevard caused a ruckus Thursday morning.
About 40 people called the Utah Department of Transportation about the banners, an agency official said. Most were asking for the banners to be removed.
At least three banners were hung on the safety fences, most spanning nearly the width of the interstate. One over the pedestrian overpass near 3900 South — which also crosses Wasatch and leads to Churchill Junior High — read in large, block letters, “Vaccines can cause injury and death.” Another, over the 1300 East overpass, said, “Vaccine makers are exempt from liability.”
UDOT deployed maintenance crews to check whether the banners posed a public safety hazard.
“UDOT does not weigh in on the issues. Our interest is in whether it’s presenting a safety concern,” UDOT spokesperson John Gleason said. “It caught the attention of quite a few people and we did receive quite a bit of feedback on it.”
After being approached by the UDOT maintenance crew, the protesters agreed to take down the banners. Gleason said he believed they were gone by about 10 a.m.