SALT LAKE CITY – Government Spencer Cox was optimistic and enthusiastic about Utah’s prospects for ending the pandemic at Thursday’s weekly COVID-19 news conference. But the newly elected head of state argued that while the future is bright, things could have gone better if the state had implemented a mask mandate earlier.
“Sometimes we got it right and sometimes we got it wrong,” he said. “We used to make other mistakes by not doing masks, by not giving those who instructed earlier, who could help and maybe save lives.”
Former Gov. Gary Herbert has been pursuing a nationwide mask order in the pandemic for months, conceding only after a major fall before Thanksgiving in November. At the time, Cox had just won the gubernatorial election and was still in his role as lieutenant governor, as well as the head of the state’s coronavirus task force.
“Looking back, we should have had it and probably could have given an instruction,” Cox said Thursday.
While the state did not have an official mask mandate until late fall, Herbert, Cox and other officials recommended the use of a face mask and manufactured 2 million masks for distribution to those who needed one.
“A lot of us were right about issues in this pandemic, and a lot of us were wrong at different times,” Cox said Thursday, emphasizing the balancing act that officers face when new information comes to light.
In March 2020, face masks were not yet a political issue, and health officials and agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urged residents not to wear them.
CDC leadership at the time advised against wearing face masks, saying medical supplies for hospital staff should be kept at the front line, and that the cover would not help much spread. But by April 2020, after the asymptomatic spread was better understood, the CDC updated its guidelines to recommend every resident in the U.S. to wear a face mask.
“We learned a lot about masks,” Cox said. “We learned more about how effective masks were.”
Since the earlier pandemic response, several studies have shown that data shows that masks are an effective way to slow down the spread of the new coronavirus, which is spread by respiratory droplets.
Similarly, several models developed by experts and scientists predicted that COVID-19 cases in the country would peak significantly in March before a decline in cases would be seen. In Utah, the number of cases and the rate of positivity have begun to decline over the past few weeks as vaccine numbers continue to rise.
“It does not mean that they are bad people, it does not mean that they are bad scientists, it does not mean that they do not know what they are doing; it just means that things have changed,” Cox said.
To date, a total of 660,444 doses of vaccines have been administered to Utahns, which has nearly doubled the number of COVID-19 cases seen since the onset of the pandemic to 369,433. A total of 1,890 Utahns died of COVID-19 and 14,597 were admitted to the hospital, according to the Utah Department of Health.
The two doses of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are currently available for eligible Utahns in the state, with the availability of the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine expected in the coming days.
Overall, Cox was extremely optimistic about the state’s future with the pandemic and by the summer he said he hoped to be maskless during a fourth July parade. He predicted that by the end of April or early May, there would be enough vaccine doses available for every adult in Utah who wants one to receive one.
As long as there is little transmission to majority vaccination, Cox believes masks are no longer needed sooner than expected. The forecast could change, and if it does, the governor said the state will adjust its response.
Despite the mistakes leaders have made in the past, Cox stressed the importance of light at the end of the tunnel. Officials do not always have the perfect response, and afterward is 2020, he added.
“Sometimes we don’t understand it exactly, and (masks) was probably one where we could have done it earlier,” Cox said.