SALT LAKE CITY – New data shows that immunity to COVID-19 is increasing in Salt Lake County, and health experts are optimistic that the community is striving for herd immunity.
On Friday, people showed up at the Mountain America Expo Center for round two of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
This means that Salt Lake County residents will be fully vaccinated in just one week and will cross the border into the other side of COVID-19 immunity.
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The 79-year-old Elaine Spear even brought her dog Bella to the event and exclaimed, “I think it’s great!” when she rolled up her sleeve.
Spear said she called everyone she knew to encourage them to get the vaccine. Her second dose is worth celebrating.
“I’m going to go home and celebrate, and call all my friends,” she said enthusiastically. “And from a distance we’re all going to have a drink in celebration.”
According to the Salt Lake County Department of Health, the number of people who have completed their two doses of the vaccine – including Spear – is still relatively low.
“The best guess is that we are currently about six percent for Salt Lake County, just individuals who have been completely vaccinated,” said Ilene Risk, the epidemiology office manager at the Salt Lake County Department of Health.
However, she only found out good news regarding the immunity of herds.
“What they found – and this is their most recent data – is that about 20 to 25 percent of Salt Lake County residents have shown immunity to the disease itself, or the vaccine, or both,” Risk explained.
This is a quarter of the population that shows immunity to COVID-19. Risk attributed these figures to the University of Utah’s Utah HERO project, which has been monitoring COVID-19 community activities since last spring.
READ: How to Apply for a COVID-19 Vaccine in Utah
Thousands of people were tested for different antibodies COVID-19 and COVID-19 throughout 2020.
“20 to 25 percent is fantastic,” said Dr. Stephen Alder, project leader with the Utah HERO project, said.
‘Fantastic’, especially because, according to dr. Older, they estimate that the immunity rate was about 10 percent after December.
Dr. Alder talked about a few other takeaways they see from the Utah HERO project, such as finding that consumers are more active when they can go to places where they feel safe and have a mask mandate.
It has shown that the mandates across the country are good for the economy, he said, and that the economy and health considerations do not have to be intertwined.
They also find that schools that follow good guidelines see low COVID-19 transfer rates.
He indicated that it was promising for where we were headed, and said we were hopefully able to deal with the pandemic and see a resolution in the future.
“Hopefully we’ll talk a few months before we really start to see numbers that … give us a chance to be optimistic about how fast we can achieve, at least, what our new normal will be,” he said.
But he and Risk explained that it all depends on continued vaccinations and measures such as wearing masks and social distance to continue the upward trend toward herd immunity.
They said experts plan that 70 percent is the magic number to achieve herd immunity and destroy COVID.
Risk said if people are not vaccinated, they will not reach the number. The pandemic will last longer and longer, and wearing a mask will continue.
The two stressed the importance of not letting guards down yet.
Even though Spear now has both shots, she said she would still apply the same safety precautions.
She said she is proud to be part of the community’s efforts to pursue herd immunity.
“I’m just so glad I’m getting the second time and can be part of this amazing movement to get everyone vaccinated,” she said, adding, “And I think everyone should do it.”