Photo illustration. | Photo by Ridofranz, iStock / Getty Images Plus, St. George News
ST. GEORGE – The timeline for when people in Utah will receive the COVID-19 vaccine has changed. People aged 75 and over have been relocated, while a person’s work as an essential worker will no longer be considered as a criterion for prioritizing vaccines. It was also made clear when teachers, patients and long-term caregivers and staff will receive the vaccine.
The Utah Department of Health announced Monday morning that all Utahns aged 75 and older have been relocated to the start of Phase 2 vaccine distribution. Phase 1 is currently continuing. It began with frontline staff at Dixie Regional Medical Center staff and will be expanded this week to all medical staff throughout the state, including staff at the other medical facilities in Southern Utah, including Cedar City Hospital.
So far, dr. Todd Vento, an infectious disease specialist at Intermountain Healthcare, said the main complaint of those receiving the vaccine was sore in the arm. The more serious short-term side effects of the vaccine – including fever and chills up to 48 hours – was seen after the second vaccination shot which should not be taken more than 21 days after the first.
K-12 teachers and staff and long-term care staff and patients will be on hand next week, in the middle of next month. First responders will be immediately after closing phase 1 in early February. Phase 2 then begins in mid-February for anyone 75 years or older who wants the vaccine.
“As we move into phase 2 of our vaccination program, it simply makes the most sense to vaccinate first those who are most at risk for hospitalization and death,” Gov. Gary Herbert said in a statement. “We will continue to refine our plans and continue under the principle that those who suffer the most should be vaccinated first.”
Vento said it is from 75 years old, rather than any earlier age.
“It’s really important. The group is the group that runs the biggest risk, ”said Vento. “The sooner we start doing these things, the more likely we are to see a decline in hospitalizations within a few months.”
According to the Utah Department of Health, those aged 85 or older make up a majority, 26.5%, of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state and are more than four times as likely to die than any other age group.
Previously, the profession would be a category to determine who gets vaccinated. Essential workers – who are considered to be those in the grocery, food services, utilities and transportation industries – were given preference. However, the Department of Health now chooses to prioritize based on age and other risk factors, a move that welcomes incoming Gov. Spencer Cox.
“If we focus on age, it will do more to reduce infections and alleviate hospitalizations than any other category of individuals, as we continue to administer vaccinations,” Cox said. “I support this change a lot and know it will save lives.”
Essential workers will now have to wait until the vaccine is released to the general population, which is expected to be between April and June.
The Department of Health is still determining the order of those who will receive the vaccine among high-risk groups after 75 and older receive it.
Vaccine supply grew more slowly than expected, with fewer supplies than expected at the federal level. While at least 15,000 doses have now been promised for southern Utah, the Utah Department of Health said the area has received 7,325 doses at this point.
The offer could soon get a boost, when the transition team of Presidential Officer Joe Biden announced on Monday that he would appeal to the Defense Production Act to increase vaccine production. The law, which allows a president to order companies to prioritize certain manufactures, was used by President Donald Trump earlier this year to increase fan production at a time when fan inventory was considered low – something that since then was no problem.
Healthcare workers receive the vaccine from the stock sent directly to the hospitals.
St. George News has learned that some local long-term care centers were told on January 15 that they would receive the vaccine supplies. The vaccines are handled by the national pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens as well as the community nursing services. vaccines provided in long-term care facilities.
Local school districts, including Washington and Iron districts, coordinate with the Department of Public Health in Southwestern Utah on the distribution to teachers and staff. As in the medical facilities, schools are not expected to make the vaccine compulsory in the short term.
As for those 75 and older in phase 2, there are expected to be massive vaccination clinics by local health departments – something for which Southwestern Public Health Department in Utah has already held a dry run. Thereafter, the vaccine is expected to be available through pharmacies and healthcare providers, similar to how flu shots are now available.
Virus has mutated, but vaccine will still work
In the past week, a mutation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes and transmits infection more easily, has appeared in 50% of new infections in the UK and has already spread worldwide, including over the weekend. is located in the Los Angeles area.
But Vento said the good news is that the vaccine is still effective against the mutated virus.
‘The virus mutation makes the virus easier to transmit and requires less virus to enter the body. “They looked at people who had the vaccine and saw that the vaccine could also make people immune to the mutated strain,” Vento said. ‘Viruses mutate. This is what they do. ”
Vento said mutations and uncertainty over whether those immunized for the virus could still transmit it are part of why medical professionals recommend continuing preventative measures such as wearing a mask and distancing even after the vaccine widely applied.
“If you think, ‘The vaccine is here, we’re done,’ you have to do the expectation management for yourself and commit yourself in the long run, ” Vento said. we can see the top of the mountain … but we can not put a timeline on it, because if we arrive at the time and we are not there, we will say: ‘Why are we not at the top of the mountain? ‘”
Vento added that it is still too early to know if anyone who has been vaccinated against the virus is still unable to spread it.
Too early to see if holidays will cause new boom
With the gestation period of the virus, Vento said it would take a week or two before the impact of the Christmas and New Year holiday events is determined.
“Our biggest concern about holiday exposure compared to Thanksgiving is that there is more time with others between Christmas and New Year,” Vento said.
At the same time, Vento said hospitalizations have stabilized, although they are still at a high level, necessitating that current events at locations such as the Dixie Regional Medical Center continue.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dixie Regional was at 73% capacity at the end of last week, with 22% of the beds taken up with COVID-19 patients. Cedar City Hospital was 60% full with 24% of the beds containing COVID-19 patients.
New infections are also seeing a sharp decline, although Vento has warned that the numbers may not be reliable at the moment as the test has been closed for the holiday and the possible rise of the holiday has yet to be taken into account.
“The next two to three months are going to be important,” Vento said. ‘These preventive measures do not change. We can not get out before ourselves. ”
COVID-19 information sources
St. George News did everything possible to ensure that the information in this story was accurate at the time it was written. As the situation and science surrounding the coronavirus continue to evolve, some data may have changed.
See the resources below for updated information and resources.
Southern Utah Coronavirus Score (as of December 28, 2020, average seven days in parentheses)
Positive COVID-19 tests: 18,171 (187.1 new infections per day in seven days, falling since December 22)
- Country-by-country numbers were announced later Monday
New infections for large cities in southern Utah (numbers released before the numbers in southern Utah):
- St. George: 66 (val)
- Washington City: 27 (fall)
- Hurricane / LaVerkin: 19 (fall)
- Ivins City / Santa Clara: 11 (fall)
- Cedar City: 32 (fall)
Deaths: 132 (0.9 per day, election)
- Washington County: 107 (2 new since last report: female long-term care older than 85, female older than 85)
- Iron County: 15
- Garfield County: 7
- Kane County: 1
- Beaver County: 2
Admitted to hospital: Hospitalization numbers released later Monday
Active cases: 6 862 (styg)
Current average of seven days in Utah: 1 969 (val)
Vaccines Shipped to Southern Utah: 7,325
Number of initial vaccine injections in Southern Utah: 502
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