A Utah doctor is concerned to see case counts hitting a plateau.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Siraj Ahmed, 67, gets her first free Modern vaccine on Thursday from Salt Lake County Health Department nursing intern Bailey Weems. More than 120 people were scheduled to receive their first vaccines for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines at the Islamic Center of Utah in West Jordan on March 18, 2021.
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Utah remains on its COVID-19 plateau, with 447 new cases reported on Friday. And an infectious disease doctor at Intermountain Healthcare is concerned that the Utahns are starting to “let their guard down a little.”
“We saw that there is a very good ongoing trend in our case count,” said Dr. Eddie Stenehjem. “We were subsequently stagnant. And now I think we are starting to see a slight increase in cases. “
The Utah Department of Health also reported another 17 deaths on Friday. Twelve of them occurred before February 19 and have only recently been confirmed as a result of COVID-19. Thirteen of those who died were 65 or older, but one was a man between the ages of 18 and 24 and the other was a woman between 25 and 44 years old.
Because there is optimism as more people get the vaccines, Stenehjem said, “you are starting to increase your social circles a little bit and this will lead to an increase in transmissions” And the data shows that the “younger population” – the groups 1-14 and 15-24 years old – has seen an increase in cases.
“We have to keep in mind that, yes, vaccinations are going very well. And it’s going faster than we expected, both nationally and in the state of Utah, ”he said. “But we are not there yet. We do not have the masses vaccinated to the point of having any kind of protection from the point of view of ‘herd immunity’. “
[Read more: Utahns find the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine can bring harsher side effects]
Although Utah is “getting close” and it is “a very optimistic moment”, said Stenehjem, “we just have to be very, very careful not to declare victory before we are really at the finish line here”.
Vaccine doses administered the previous day / total doses administered • 31,146 / 1,111,185.
Fully vaccinated Utahns • 402,988.
Cases reported the previous day • 447.
Deaths reported the day before • 17
Salt Lake County reported six deaths: a man between 18 and 24 years old; one man and three women aged 65 to 84; and a man over 85 years old.
There were three deaths in Washington County: two men and a woman between 65 and 84 years old.
Two Cache County residents died: a 25- to 44-year-old woman and a 85-year-old man. And two Davis County residents died: a man aged 45 to 64 and a man aged 65 to 84.
Four counties each reported a single death: a man aged 65 to 84 in Iron County; a man over 85 in Tooele County; a 45- to 64-year-old woman in Uintah County; and a 65- to 84-year-old woman in Weber County.
Hospitalizations reported the previous day • 176. That’s 13 from Thursday. Of those currently hospitalized, 61 are in intensive care units – two less than on Thursday.
Tests reported the day before • 5,967 people were tested for the first time. A total of 15,565 people were tested.
Percentage of positive tests • In the original state method, the rate is 7.5%. This is less than the 8.3% seven-day average.
His new method counts all test results, including repeated tests from the same individual. Thursday’s rate is now 2.9%, lower than the 7-day average of 4.2%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 380,787 cases; 2,058 deaths; 15,241 hospitalizations; 2,320,731 people tested.