Governor Cox urges Utahns to volunteer to help with COVID-19 vaccinations

SALT LAKE CITY – The end of the COVID-19 pandemic is coming, but the Utahns first need to be vaccinated against the deadly virus, Governor Spencer Cox said on Thursday, as the state reported 1,242 new cases and nine additional deaths.

“There will always be that pull and pull again, keeping people safe and getting back to normal. This has been the struggle all along, ”said the governor, adding that the state will launch a media campaign to tell Utahns that vaccines are the way to overcome the restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of the virus.

“We want people to get this vaccine. The way we get back to normal is not just that you get the vaccine, it’s that enough of us get the vaccine so we can get collective immunity, ”said Cox, recognizing that while 70% to 75% of the population has been suggested, “no one is sure what that number will look like.”

But the governor said during his weekly update on COVID-19 that he is sure that “there will come a time – and we are actively having these discussions – when we vaccinate everyone who is at risk and when the supply is outpacing demand, so yes, we will for a different model. “

So there will be “some responsibility of their own,” so that not everyone will have to wear a mask unless they want additional protection, Cox said.

“At some point, everyone has a choice to make and everyone has to be responsible for that choice. That’s what we believe. It is different from a pandemic, in which everyone is at risk ”.

It is unclear when the Utah mask order and other restrictions designed to slow the spread of the virus would be lifted, although the state’s new goal is to get the vaccine to all Utah adults who want it by the end of May, now that more doses are coming the federal government and more manufacturers are expected to be approved.

“I don’t know and I can’t tell you exactly what time it will be. But what I can say is that it is arriving and is arriving faster than most people expected, ”he said, promising to follow medical advice on issues that are still uncertain, as if someone who has been vaccinated can still spread the virus.

Francisco Kjolseth

Volunteers needed

Cox also announced a new voluntary effort across the state to help with vaccination.

“We are going to need you. We will need many of you, ”said Cox. Utah will have to triple the 100,000 doses administered last week, in April and May, to be able to vaccinate everyone who wants to be vaccinated in the next three months.

As of Thursday, 462,720 doses of vaccine have been administered in Utah, 20,244 doses of Wednesday.

Doctors and medical professionals are being sought to administer vaccines at mass vaccination sites due to open next month as federal government vaccine distribution continues to increase, as well as Utahns who can provide traffic control, administrative assistance and other needs.

Utahns can enroll as volunteers at utahresponds.org, but will not receive vaccines until they become eligible.

At the moment, they are health professionals, first responders, residents and long-term care teams, elementary and high school teachers and employees of schools and Utahns aged 70 and over. From March 1, Utahns aged 65 and over, as well as those with specific medical conditions, may be vaccinated.

“There is a significant need,” said Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson of calling for volunteers on Thursday, describing the vaccination effort “in bright light at the end of the dark tunnel.”

Henderson said he has heard of doctors and many other Utahns who want to help. Volunteers will be asked to work shifts of at least four hours, she said, adding that it may take a few weeks before being assigned, although there are immediate opportunities for anyone qualified to administer the vaccines.

Dr. Angela Dunn, a state epidemiologist, warned that variants of COVID-19 that are emerging around the world, including three cases from one in Britain that were detected in Utah, are more easily transmitted. This makes wearing quality masks, social detachment and avoiding large meetings even more important, she said.

“I am confident that if we continue to do this as a state, we will see the numbers drop to sporadic in the fall,” said Dunn.

Even vaccinated Utahns should continue to take these steps to slow the spread of the virus, at least for the next few months, Dunn said, although two weeks after receiving a second dose of the vaccine, they will no longer need to be quarantined if exposed to COVID- 19

The seven-day continuous average for positive tests in Utah is now 1,049 per day. The seven-day continuous average for the percentage of positive tests that does not include multiple tests by individuals in the last 90 days is 14.8%, and the seven-day continuous average for the percentage of positive tests is 6.7%.

Utah has 327 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19. The number of deaths from the virus is now 1,774, including the following nine deaths reported on Thursday:

• A man from Morgan County, aged 65 to 84, residing in a long-term care facility.
• A man from Salt Lake County, aged 45 to 64, hospitalized at the time of death.
• Tooele County woman, over 85, residing in a long-term care facility.
• Utah county woman, over 85, residing in a long-term care facility.
• A Utah county man, over 85, was not hospitalized at the time of death.
• A Washington County man, over 85, was not hospitalized.
• A man from Weber County, 65-84, not in hospital.
• A Weber County man, over 85, residing in a long-term institution.
• A Weber County man, over 85, was not hospitalized.

Steve Griffin, Deseret News