SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Governor Spencer Cox says he’s getting more and more optimistic about COVID-19 vaccines.
The state will now receive an increased grant of the Moderna vaccine, which, according to the governor, brings the total number of vaccines sent to Utah each week to 40,000, both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccinations. Previously, the state received about 33,000 doses per week.
In addition, state leaders expect the number of vaccines sent to the state to reach 100,000 a week by March or April, Cox said. Federal approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected in February, and AstraZeneca is also preparing to submit the vaccine for approval.
The approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected to significantly increase vaccinations, especially among people with conditions, Cox said. He expects to make an announcement next week about what comorbidities people will be able to get vaccinated.
Although it takes months to vaccinate each Utahn with a dose of 100,000 doses per week, it is still a huge improvement, the governor said.
“I’m more optimistic now than I was a week ago,” Cox said Thursday.
On Thursday, the government of Utah, Spencer Cox, Lieutenant Government Deidre Henderson and the state epidemiologist of Utah, Department of Health, dr. Angela Dunn provides an update on the COVID-19 pandemic at a news conference. Watch the repeat of the news conference below.
Demand for vaccine still exceeds supply
Of the nearly 400,000 doses of vaccine sent to Utah so far, only 95 have been discarded or discarded, Cox said Thursday.
According to a state audit of vaccines, 95 doses were not used, mostly due to vials or syringes damaged during transport, the governor said.
There are reports from other states that large amounts of vaccine doses are being discarded due to regulations on how they should be used, but there is no evidence that this is happening in Utah, Cox added. While health departments and facilities administering vaccines must use the doses within seven days of delivery, the doses older than seven days are redistributed and not wasted, the governor said.
Demand for the vaccine is still greater than supply in Utah, state leaders said. Currently, health care workers, first responders, K-12 teachers and staff and all over the age of 70 are eligible to receive a vaccine in Utah.
Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson said she completed her tour of all 13 local health districts in Utah last week. They were all instructed to keep lists of people who wanted the vaccine but could not book an appointment, Henderson said. They were also asked to keep a support list of people who are eligible for vaccines that could receive a vaccine at the end of a day, so that extra doses not used that day go to waste, Henderson added. .
While state leaders acknowledge that securing an appointment for a vaccine has been difficult in some areas, lists are being drawn up to streamline the process and get as many vaccinations into the gun as possible, the lieutenant governor said. The visits to the health districts were ‘very striking’ and a wonderful experience, she added.
“I can not stress enough about the tremendous work that these local health workers are doing,” Henderson said.
While demand is still greater than the supply of vaccines in Utah, state leaders hope it will change soon, she added.
“We encourage everyone to be patient,” Henderson said.
New cases COVID-19
According to Utah’s Department of Health, Utah’s COVID-19 cases increased by 1,761 on Thursday, with no more deaths.
The Department of Health did not report any deaths on Thursday due to an error in the data transfer clarified in a tweet Thursday noon. Deaths that were to be reported on Thursday will be added to the COVID-19 statistics report, the health department said.
In today’s # COVID-19 case update, zero new deaths were reported. This was due to a data transfer error. Deaths that would be reported today will be added in tomorrow’s case report.
– Utah Dept. of Health (@UtahDepOfHealth) 28 January 2021
According to the Department of Health, the current average number of seven-day positive cases per day is now at 1,710. The positive test rate per day for that period is now 18.3%.
The Department of Health estimates that there are now 43,187 active COVID-19 cases in Utah.
In addition, the seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases and positive test results also decreased from last week, dr. Angela Dunn, state epidemiologist, said Thursday.
“All of these key indicators are definitely heading in the right direction,” she said.
Although Utah has seen the promising trends to start the new year, Dunn urged people to keep doing what they are doing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Utahns are being vaccinated, but there are not enough people being vaccinated for herd immunity yet, so people need to continue to take preventative measures to stop the spread, Dunn added. That means we continue to wear masks, keep social distance, stay home when you are sick and practice good hygiene, she said.
People are also being asked to upgrade their masks from cloth to medical face covers if possible, Cox said. Utah leaders are working with President Joe Biden’s government to potentially purchase more such masks to distribute to Utahns, Cox said.
“The right quality mask protects the user,” the governor said.
Thursday’s new figures point to a 0.5% increase in positive cases since Wednesday. Of the 2,000,023 people tested for COVID-19 in Utah so far, 17.1% tested positive for the disease. The number of tests performed has increased by 18,134 since Thursday, of which 10,917 were tests of people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19, according to state data.
There are 444 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, including 157 in intensive care. About 84% of Utah’s ICU beds were occupied on Thursday, including about 89% of ICU beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. About 56% of Utah’s hospital beds that are not under ICUs are occupied, according to the Department of Health.
A total of 267,027 vaccines were administered in the state, compared to 250,448 on Wednesday. Of these, 43,089 are second doses, according to state data.
The total Thursday total gives Utah 342,445 total confirmed cases, with 13,279 total hospitalizations and 1,620 total deaths due to the disease. A total of 297,638 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovery, according to the Department of Health.
Methods:
Test results now contain data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive COVID-19 test results are reported to the health department immediately after confirmation, but negative test results may not be reported 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported each day by the Utah Department of Health includes all cases of COVID-19 since the outbreak of Utah, including those currently infected, those recovering from the disease, and those who have died.
Recovered cases are defined as anyone who was diagnosed with COVID-19 three or more weeks ago and did not die.
Reference hospitals are the 16 Utah hospitals that can provide the best COVID-19 health care.
According to the Department of Health, deaths usually occurred two to seven days before they were reported. Some deaths can come back even further, especially if the person is from Utah but died in another state.
The Department of Health reports both confirmed and probable COVID-19 deaths according to the definition of the case set out by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists. The death rates could change as case investigations are completed.
For deaths reported as COVID-19 deaths, the person would not have died if they had not had COVID-19, according to the Department of Health.
Data included in this story primarily reflects the state of Utah as a whole. Visit the website of your local health district for more localized data.
More information on Utah’s health education levels is available at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels.
Information comes from the Utah Department of Health and coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts. For more information on how the Utah Department of Health compiles and reports COVID-19 data, visit coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts and browse to the “Data Notes” section at the bottom of the page.
Jacob Klopfenstein