SALT LAKE CITY – As many as half of Utahns can now have immunity to COVID-19, a top doctor at the region’s largest health care system said Friday when state health officials reported 651 new cases of the virus and 17 additional deaths and a third vaccine has. is willing to receive federal approval.
The number of residents who have been vaccinated against the virus or contracted it can reach 70% by June or July, said dr. Mark Briesacher, CEO of Intermountain Healthcare, told reporters during a virtual news conference.
It is estimated that it will take between 70% and 90% of the population to obtain the antibodies needed to ward off COVID-19 before reaching herd immunity. But the World Health Organization and other experts say the level differs according to disease and has not yet been determined for the virus.
‘It’s a bit of a complicated question, because it’s based on a combination of facts and assumptions. What are the facts? We know that 180,000 Utahns have had COVID-19 in the last 90 days. We know that 750 000 have been vaccinated, ”said Briesacher.
That’s about 30% of Utahns, “an excellent place to be in,” he said. But if we assume that there are also residents who contracted the virus but never showed symptoms, and that they were not diagnosed, ‘we are probably between 40% and 50% immune and I can see that by April- May grow to 50% to 60%, and by June-July to about 70%. ”
The third vaccine could start arriving in Utah next week
A third vaccine, from Johnson & Johnson, is not expected to be used for emergency use until Saturday, after receiving an advisory panel from the Federal Food and Drug Administration on Friday. The two vaccines currently approved for use in the United States, Pfizer and Moderna, require a boost shot.
Government Spencer Cox welcomed the news.
“So many people have suffered from this pandemic,” Cox said in a statement. ” A third authorized vaccine tells me that miracles still happen through some of our darkest times. It is a testament to modern research, science, public health and medicine. ”
The governor said ‘we are saving as many lives as possible through vaccines. This vaccine will do that. Remember, all three vaccinations are safe and effective. You can trust that any of you and those around you will protect against COVID-19. ‘
Cox, who told reporters on the coronavirus on Thursday that the federal government had approved more than 20,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine for the state, said Utahns should not hesitate to get the new vaccine, although the its efficiency is not as high as for Pfizer and Moderna.
“We have never been vaccinated with vaccines before,” the governor said, adding that it is important to prevent serious illnesses that require hospitalization and deaths due to COVID-19. It turns out that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is 100% effective at stopping.
The governor said Johnson & Johnson’s efficacy rate, about 66% when moderate cases are included compared to above 90% for the other vaccines, is still “incredibly good. These numbers are incredible and by the way, they have been tested on other variants, which the numbers may have dropped a bit. ‘
Briesacher also said Utahns should not worry about what shot they get.
‘If you are eligible, go to a place that is best for you and take the vaccine. Do not worry about which manufacturer it is, because in the end, they are all very effective against severe cases of the virus, he said.
Herd immunity is coming, but for now, ‘let’s hang in there’
The doctor warned that within the next few months, up to 70% immunity would require the vaccines to remain effective – as well as the antibodies generated by COVID-19 – against new and more transmissible and potentially deadly variants of the virus which continues. to emerge.
“But I think that’s generally the reason why we and state leaders and many others in health care – certainly my peers in the other health care systems – are optimistic about where we are today,” he said. a public health assignment that includes wearing masks, social distance and avoiding crowds.
‘As our immunity grows, we will reach a point where we can and will relax the restrictions on public gatherings. And I think wearing a mask will become less important in the future. But I think the message today is, let’s hang in there. ‘
Briesacher’s remarks reflect a new nationwide health order that runs until March 25, which would lift the mask mandate in provinces with low COVID-19 transmission rates once the state receives 1,633,000 first vaccine doses from the federal government , enough for about 70% of the state’s adults.
The governor said Thursday he now expects every adult in Utah who wants to be vaccinated to be able to do so by the end of April, a month earlier than he predicted. “There is an end in sight,” he said during his weekly update of COVID-19.
On Thursday, Utahns 16 and older, with specific medical conditions, were eligible to take vaccinations, a few days earlier than the March 1 date initially set. They join health workers, first responders, residents and staff for long-term care facilities, K-12 teachers and school staff and Utahns 65 and older on the fitness list.
Information on vaccination appointments offered by Utah’s 13 local health departments, federal pharmacies, and a state contractor is available at cornoavirus.utah.gov. In Salt Lake County, the health department is phasing in those with comorbidities until Monday based on age.
Latest Utah COVID-19 stats
The Utah Department of Health said Friday another 22,092 vaccine doses were administered in Utah for a total of 682,536, a number smaller than Briesacher’s estimate because of a delay in reporting to the state.
Utah had 370,084 positive cases, including the 651 reported Friday. The seven-day moving average for positive COVID-19 tests is 694 per day, and 5,498 Utahns have been tested and another 15,599 tests have been done since Thursday.
The state’s average of seven days for percentage positivity is 5.6% if all tests are counted, Utah’s new preferred method and 12.3% if multiple tests by an individual during the past 90 days are excluded. Currently, 231 people in Utah are hospitalized with the virus.
Utah’s death toll is 1,907 with the 17 deaths reported Friday, including eight that occurred before Feb. 5. The recently reported deaths are:
- A man from Washington County, aged 65 to 84, resident for long-term care
- A Utah County man over the age of 85 has not been admitted to hospital
- A Salt Lake County man, aged 45 to 64, resident for long-term care
- A Salt Lake County man, aged between 65 and 84, resident for long-term care
- A Salt Lake County man over the age of 85 has not been admitted to hospital
- An Iron County man aged between 45 and 64 has not been admitted to hospital
- A man in Salt Lake County, older than 85, resident for long-term care
- A Weber County man over the age of 85 has not been admitted to hospital
- A Salt Lake County man, aged between 45 and 64, was admitted to hospital at the time of his death
- A man from Tooele County, aged between 45 and 64, was not admitted to hospital
- A woman from Uintah County, over the age of 85, resident for long-term care
- A Salt Lake County woman, aged between 65 and 84, resident for long-term care
- A woman in Salt Lake County, over the age of 85, resident for long-term care
- A woman in Salt Lake County, over the age of 85, resident for long-term care
- A Salt Lake County woman, aged between 65 and 84, resident for long-term care
- A Weber County woman over the age of 85 has not been admitted to hospital
- A Utah County woman, aged between 45 and 64, has not been admitted to hospital