SALT LAKE CITY – More than half a million people in Utah have received vaccines designed to provide immunity to COVID-19.
The latest updates provided by the Utah Department of Health on Saturday show that 512,189 doses of the vaccine have been administered in the state, which is 22,473 more than reported on Friday. These include 335 077 who received the first doses and 127 643 who were fully vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
Spencer Cox, Governor of Utah, said mass clinics across the state will pop up to get more people vaccinated in the coming weeks and months, as he expects the increase in doses to increase to Utah in the future.
Currently, health workers, first responders, long-term care residents and staff, K-12 teachers and school staff, as well as Utahns 70 and older, can get vaccinations. Admission to the vaccine is expected to open on March 1 for Utahns 65 and older, as well as those with certain medical conditions.
The Department of Health on Saturday reported another 943 new cases of the disease, bringing the total number of known COVID-19 infections in Utah to 360,584 since mid-March.
More than 2.12 million people have been tested for COVID-19 in the state, including 6,803 since yesterday.
The seven-day moving average for positive tests is now 987 cases per day in Utah, with a positive percentage of 14.4% of all tested persons and 6.4% of all tests administered (which includes tests of people who had multiple COVID-19) tests in the previous 90 days).
A smaller number of people are reportedly being hospitalized throughout Utah, and the Department of Health is reporting five new deaths due to COVID-19.
Recent deaths include an Iron County man between the ages of 65 and 84 who was hospitalized at the time of his death; a man aged 45 to 64 in Salt Lake County who was not admitted to the hospital; a woman from Tooele County between the ages of 65 and 84 who was admitted to hospital; a woman in Utah County between the ages of 45 and 64 who was admitted to the hospital; and a Utah County man over the age of 85 who was not admitted to the hospital.
A total of 1,790 people in Utah have died as a result of the pandemic disease and 298 people are currently in the hospital, which is 14 less than reported Friday.