SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Department of Health reported 778 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, maintaining the trend with the number of new cases declining in recent weeks.
Another 18,383 people in Utah have been vaccinated against the disease since Friday, with a total number of 598,434 doses of the vaccine given to Utahns since mid-December.
Of those, 200,651 people in Utah received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, which manufacturers claim to provide at least 94% immunity against the pandemic disease.
State officials, however, encouraged everyone, including people who are fully vaccinated, to continue wearing masks and maintain social distance to further reduce the spread of the disease in communities.
Everyone, except Garfield, Piute, Daggett and Rich counties in Utah, has still been experiencing high rates of disease transmission for some time, according to state health department statistics.
Reports indicate that the state has tested more than 2.1 million people for COVID-19, including 6,892 people and 19,646 tests since yesterday, with an average seven-day percentage of positive tests at 13.52% or 779 positive tests per day.
In all, there were 366,034 known cases of COVID-19 in Utah, the first of which was reported in March 2020.
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There are 242 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, down from 255 hospitalizations reported on Friday.
The health department also reported eight new deaths from the virus, including five women and three men. The death toll on COVID-19 in Utah is now 1,842.
Deaths reported on Saturday include:
- Three men from Salt Lake County between 65 and 84 who were hospitalized when they died.
- A woman from Salt Lake County over 85 who was not hospitalized.
- A woman from Salt Lake County between 65 and 84 who was hospitalized.
- A woman from Utah County between 45 and 64 who was hospitalized.
- A woman from Weber County over 85 who was hospitalized.
- A woman from Weber County between 65 and 84 who was hospitalized.
The Salt Lake County Department of Health, which is using age-based phases to determine access to the COVID-19 vaccine, opened appointments for Salt Lake County residents aged 67 and over at 6 pm on Saturday. Visit SaltLakeHealth.org or call 385-468-7468 to register.
Health care professionals, long-term care facility staff and residents, first responders, educators and staff at K-12 schools, as well as Utahns aged 65 and over are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Utah. Local health departments are leading distribution efforts, but pharmacies and other partners are administering vaccines, depending on eligibility.
A partner health company, Nomi Health, is pre-registering qualified Utahns for thousands of vaccines at vaccines.nomihealth.com/utah. Nomi Health locations will open in Lehi, Vineyard and South Jordan.
The vaccine’s eligibility should be open to more Utahns, including those with a variety of high-risk medical conditions on March 1.
For more information on vaccine eligibility or Utah’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, visit coronavirus.utah.gov.