Utah Passes 300K Vaccinations Administered; Reports 1,500 New Cases, 8 More Deaths

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – State health officials have reported an increase of less than 1,500 new coronavirus cases and the deaths of 8 more Utahns. They also reported a milestone in vaccination administration, reaching over 300,000 inoculations.

The deaths bring the total number of Utahns lost to COVID-19 to 1,636. Officials with the Utah Department of Health said the deaths reported reflected the numbers of people who died specifically because of the effects of the coronavirus disease.

“The Office of the Medical Examiner conducts thorough investigations of all potential COVID-related deaths. These investigations can take several weeks to complete,” officials said.

An increase of 1,468 new cases since Friday was reported.

Testing

The Department of Health reported a total of 2,018,175 Utah residents have been tested for the novel coronavirus – an increase of 8,768 of the total reported since Friday. Of those tested, 16.7 percent were positive.

Officials reported 345,430 residents have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began – an increase of 1,468 cases since Friday. There has been an increase of 10,541 in the last week.

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 1,509 per day – down around 200 since last Saturday. The rolling seven-day average for percent of positive laboratory tests dropped slightly to 18 percent.

Vaccinations

The vaccine has been administered to 242,784 people in Utah, including health workers, educators and residents age 70 and older.

The state has administered over 300,000 first and second vaccinations. Of those vaccinated, 57,732 people have been fully immunized with both doses.

According to numbers reported by the health department, 18,719 vaccines have been administered since Friday, and 78,241 in the last week.

The number of vaccines ordered by the state and approved by the federal government and shipped was not available.

Hospitalizations

The health department reported 430 people were being treated for COVID-19 in Utah hospitals. Total hospitalizations since the pandemic began was 13,427 people.

Utah officials said 86.3 percent of the 525 ICU beds across the state were full. Of those, 139 were being used by patients confirmed to have COVID-19. An additional 92 patients inn ICU beds were suspected of having COVID-19, pending additional testing.

The remaining ICU beds were used by patients with other critical medical conditions. Hospital officials have said, in addition to the beds nearing capacity, there was staffing for around 85 percent of those beds.

Deaths

An additional 8 Utahns have died in the last day, according to the Utah Department of Health.

The latest COVID-19 deaths included four women and four men. Six of them were over the age of 65. The deaths included two people between the ages of 45 to 64.

All but two were hospitalized when they succumbed to the disease. One was living in a long-term care facility.

There have been 1,636 total deaths of residents from the disease in the Beehive State since the pandemic began – an increase of 54 in the last week.

Cache County

A Cache County man was between the ages of 65 to 84 and in the hospital when he died.

It was the 26^th death in the county, and 59^th in the area covered by the Bear River Health Department, which includes Box Elder and Rich counties. Box Elder County has had 33 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Rich County, with a population of around 2,400, has not reported any COVID-19 deaths.

Davis County

Officials also reported the death of a Davis County man. He was between the ages of 65 to 84, and had been hospitalized.

The county has reported 120 deaths since the beginning of the outbreak.

Salt Lake County

Five additional Salt Lake County residents have died of COVID-19, including three woman and two men. All but one were hospitalized when they died, including a man and woman between the ages of 45 to 64.

A woman older than 85 was not hospitalized for COVID-19 when she died.

There have been a total of 679 coronavirus-attributed deaths in the county.

Weber County

Health officials also reported one Weber County woman who died after contracting COVID-19.

She was older than 85 and had been living in a long-term care facility.

The county has reported 134 coronavirus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic, and 142 in the area covered by the Weber-Morgan Health Department, which includes Morgan County.

National/Worldwide Numbers

There have been nearly 26 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States – and nearly 1 million new cases in the last week. Over 437,150 Americans have died of the disease, according to numbers compiled by the Coronavirus Resource Center at John Hopkins University.

Across the globe there have been over 102 million cases and 2,211,868 deaths.

With just 4 percent of the worldwide population, the United States has accounted for 25.4 percent of the global cases and 19.8 percent of the deaths since the pandemic began.

The first US case was confirmed on January 21, 2020. The number of new cases in the nation has skyrocketed in November, with a spike significantly higher than any other country.

During the 2019-2020 flu season, an estimates 38 million people caught the influenza virus, requiring 18 million doctor visits and causing 22,000 deaths, according for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Around 35,900 deaths have been attributed to the flu annually, going back to the 2010-2011 flu season. Only twice during that time has the number of deaths exceeded 50,000 – once in 2014-2015, when there were 51,000 deaths, and again in 2017-2018, when there were an estimates 61,000 deaths.

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Coronavirus Resources

Have you or a family member been affected by coronavirus issues in Utah? KSL wants to hear from you. Contact KSL by emailing social@ksl.com.

What is COVID-19? Here’s What You Need To Know To Stay Healthy: ksltv.com/432037/what-is-covid-19/

Latest coronavirus stories from KSL can be found at ksltv.com/coronavirus/.

Where in the world has the coronavirus already appeared? See the map: ksltv.com/?p=432035

Your Life Your Health: How can parents prepare their home, children against coronavirus: ksltv.com/?p=432060

How do I prevent it?

The CDC has some simple recommendations, most of which are the same for preventing other respiratory illnesses or the flu:

• Avoid close contact with people who may be sick
• Avoid touching your face
• Stay home when you are sick
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and then throw the tissue in the trash
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing. Always wash your hands with soap and water if your hands are visibly dirty.
• If soap and water is not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.

The CDC does not recommend wearing a face mask respirator to protect yourself from coronavirus unless a healthcare professional recommends it.