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Vaccines are flowing, deaths have decreased and the masks may be lowered soon. During the week Utah marked a year under the threat of the coronavirus, the yoke of the pandemic began to ease.
This week, Utah recorded the lowest number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 in a seven-day period since the end of October. Since last Monday, 41 people have died from the virus, including one reported by the Utah Department of Health on Sunday. This is the lowest number of deaths since 19 to 25 October, a week that had 29 deaths, and is less than half of last week’s count of 83. The high was 116 from 7 to 13 December.
And the death toll – which has reached 2,000 since the state marked its first virus-related death on March 22, 2020 – is expected to continue to fall due to two factors: more people being vaccinated and fewer people becoming seriously ill.
Governor Spencer Cox on Thursday opened vaccination appointments for an even greater number of people, including anyone aged 50 and over and those aged 18 and over with certain low-level health conditions. This is in addition to those over 16 years of age with high-risk health conditions, teachers, health professionals, employees of long-term institutions and first responders.
“This is the largest group we’ve added,” said Cox on Thursday. “And we are getting more and more vaccines in the state every week. That’s why we feel comfortable doing this. “
Utah has received 185,175 doses of the vaccine in the past five days. This includes four days of 30,000 doses or more, plus an additional 400 on Sunday.
Some of them are the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration on February 27 and started to be used in arms in Utah on Wednesday. It is a single dose vaccination, unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which require a follow-up injection.
Armed with a portion of the state’s initial 23,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines, Summit County has taken Cox’s step toward even broader vaccine availability. He opened consultations for anyone aged 40 or over, from any county, who had pre-registered with the county health department. Rich Bullough, county health director, told Park Record that individuals aged 50 and over will still be prioritized, by state mandate.
“Instead of making a mistake by vaccinating fewer people,” Bullough told Park Record, “I made the decision to vaccinate more people.”
Intermountain Healthcare has started allowing those who are newly eligible under Cox’s plan to register to be vaccinated on its website on Thursday, despite the governor’s recommendation that the new group wait until Monday to avoid failures in the site.
“It will not be possible for everyone in these areas to get an appointment immediately,” said Cox on Thursday. He advised that people “are going to have to be patient, they are going to have to keep checking.”
Perhaps the wait is less expensive with the knowledge that fewer people are getting seriously ill with the virus.
In addition to the lowest mortality rate in four months, the state is seeing the lowest number of patients in intensive care units for COVID-19 in that period. The ICU occupation is often used as an indicator of future deaths. Currently, 191 people are hospitalized with the virus and 73 are in the ICU, the lowest number since October 3.
The average daily rate of cases is also leveling off. Last week saw just over 500 cases a day, including Wednesday’s atypical number of 729 new cases. Health officials reported an additional 412 cases on Sunday. In addition, experts believe that the herd’s immunity is close to 30% in the state.
But if the state is not careful, these positive gains may be short-lived.
Lawmakers passed a bill in the final hours of the legislative session on Friday that will end Utah’s state mask mandate on April 10. Exceptions will be made for schools and large public meetings.
And on Thursday, a bill that allows university students to take face-to-face classes, even if they are not vaccinated, was sent to the governor’s desk to be signed.
Dr. Brandon Webb, an infectious disease physician at Intermountain Healthcare, said the state is still under siege from COVID-19 and the most resistant variants that have recently been discovered. He warned against abandoning masks and other precautionary measures too early.
Only when the number of vaccinated Utahns grows will the state “be able to safely pass the baton on the things we are doing for our immunity.
“And now,” he said, “we are not there yet.”
Vaccinations given the day before / total vaccinations • 12,631 / 855,663.
Fully vaccinated Utahns • 309,882.
Cases reported the previous day • 412.
Deaths reported the day before • 1
The only reported death was a man from Cache County, aged 45 to 64, who was hospitalized at the time of his death.
Hospitalizations reported the previous day • 191. There are three casualties compared to Saturday. Of those currently hospitalized, 73 are in intensive care units – four fewer than on Saturday.
Tests reported the day before • 4,427 people were tested for the first time. A total of 8,818 people were tested.
Percentage of positive tests • In the original state method, the rate is 9.3%. This is slightly higher than the 9.2% seven-day average.
The new state method counts all test results, including repeated tests from the same individual. Sunday’s rate is now at 4.67%, above the seven-day average of 4.4%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 374,850 boxes; 1,976 deaths; 14,891 hospitalizations; 2,248,121 people tested.
Correction • Sunday, March 7, 12:47 pm: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect count of vaccinations that have been administered in Utah since Saturday.