The state reports 23 more deaths, as the number of people fully vaccinated approaches 340,000.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) People arrive for appointments to be vaccinated for COVID-19 at the Davis County Legacy Center in Farmington on Monday, March 8, 2021. Utah’s mass vaccination sites are seeing their appointment schedules fill up quickly, on the first day people aged 50 and over are officially eligible to receive their first dose.
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Almost a year after the first Utahn died of COVID-19, the state exceeded 2,000 deaths in total.
The Utah Department of Health reported 23 additional deaths on Thursday, bringing the total to 2,015. Fifteen of the last 23 reported deaths occurred before February 11 and were confirmed to be related to COVID-19 after further testing.
The first death recorded in the state due to the coronavirus was announced on March 22, 2020.
All but two of the 23 deaths reported on Thursday were 65 or older and 14 were 85 or older.
The state also reported that more than 34,000 people were vaccinated on Wednesday, as the number of people fully vaccinated – either with the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or with the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine – approached 340,000.
Vaccine doses administered the previous day / total doses administered • 34,290 / 936,681.
Fully vaccinated Utahns • 339,743.
Cases reported the previous day • 646.
Deaths reported the day before • 23
Salt Lake County reported eight deaths – two women aged 65 to 84 and three men and three women over 85.
There have been four deaths in Davis County – a man aged 45 to 64, a man aged 65 to 84 and two women over 85.
Washington County reported three deaths – a man between 45 and 64 years old and a man and woman between 65 and 84 years old.
Two Utah county residents died – a man aged 65 to 84 and a man over 85.
Six counties reported a single death – a woman over 85 in Box Elder County; a woman over 85 in Cache County; a 65- to 84-year-old woman in Iron County; a man over 85 in Kane County; a man over 85 in Uintah County; and a woman over 85 in Weber County.
Hospitalizations reported the previous day • 167. This is a drop of eight from Wednesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 66 are in intensive care units – seven fewer than on Wednesday.
Tests reported the day before • 8,139 people were tested for the first time. A total of 18,923 people were tested.
Percentage of positive tests • In the original state method, the rate is 7.93%. This is less than the 8.44% seven-day average.
His new method counts all test results, including repeated tests from the same individual. Thursday’s rate is now 3.41%, down from the 4.03% seven-day average.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 376,973 cases; 2,015 deaths; 15,014 hospitalizations; 2,273,483 people tested.
This story is developing and will be updated.