A doctor in Utah is concerned when he sees the case count on a plateau.
(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) Siraj Ahmed (67) received his first free Modern Vaccination from nurse Bailey Weems, a Salt Lake County nurse, on Thursday. More than 120 people would receive their first shots of both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines at the Utah Islamic Center in West Jordan on March 18, 2021.
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Utah continues on its COVID-19 plateau, with 447 new cases reported Friday. And an Intermountain Healthcare infectious disease physician is concerned that Utahns are starting to “wake them up a bit”.
“We have seen that there is a very good decrease in our number of cases,” said Dr. Eddie Stenehjem said. “It simply came to our notice then. And now I think we’re starting to see a slight increase in business. ‘
The Utah Department of Health also reported another 17 deaths Friday. Twelve of these occurred before February 19 and it was only recently confirmed that they were the result of COVID-19. Thirteen of those who died were 65 and older, but one was a man between the ages of 18 and 24 and another was a woman aged 25 to 44.
Because there is optimism as more people get vaccinated, Stenehjem said: “You are starting to increase your social circles a bit and this will lead to an increase in broadcasts.” And data show that the ‘younger population’ – the age groups 1-14 and 15-24 – saw an increase in cases.
“We have to keep in mind that vaccinations are going really well. “It’s going faster than we expected, both nationally and in the state of Utah,” he said. “But we are not there yet. We have not vaccinated the masses to the point that we have any form of protection from a ‘herd immunity’ point of view. ‘
[Read more: Utahns find the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine can bring harsher side effects]
Although Utah ‘is getting closer’ and it’s a very optimistic time ‘, Stenehjem said,’ we really have to be really careful not to declare the victory before we’re actually here at the finish line. ‘
Vaccine doses administered in the past day / total doses administered • 31,146 / 1,111,185.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 402,988.
Cases reported in the past day • 447.
Deaths reported in the past day • 17.
Salt Lake County reported six deaths: A man between the ages of 18-24; a man and three women 65-84; and a man of 85 plus.
There were three deaths in Washington County: two men and a woman 65-84.
Two Cache Province residents were killed: a 25-44-year-old woman and an 85-year-old man. And two Davis County residents were killed: a man 45-64 and a man 65-84.
Four counties each reported a single death: a 65-84 man in Iron County; a man of 85 in Tooele County; a woman 45-64 in Uintah County; and a woman 65-84 in Weber County.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 176. This is 13 from Thursday. Of those currently admitted to the hospital, 61 are in intensive care units – two less than Thursday.
Tests reported in the past day • 5,967 people were tested for the first time. A total of 15,565 people were tested.
Percentage of positive tests • According to the state’s original method, the rate is 7.5%. This is lower than the seven-day average of 8.3%.
The new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. The rate of Thursday is now at 2.9%, lower than the seven 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.]
Total to date • 380,787 cases; 2,058 deaths; 15,241 hospitalizations; 2,320,720 people tested.