Over 600K Vaccines Administered In Utah; 10 New Deaths Reported

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Over 600,000 coronavirus vaccinations have been administered in the Beehive State, according to the Utah Department of Health. Officials reported an additional 701 new cases have been confirmed, and 10 more residents have died of COVID-19.

The number of people hospitalized for the virus was 241.

The deaths bring the total number of Utahns lost to COVID-19 to 1,852 – 58 more in the last week. Health officials 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.

Testing

The Department of Health reported a total of 2,163,613 Utah residents have been tested for the novel coronavirus – an increase of 5,477 since Saturday and 41,416 in the last week.

Officials reported 366,735 residents have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began – an increase of 701 cases in the last day. Of those tested since Saturday, 12.8 percent were positive. There has been an increase of 5,441 cases in the last week.

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 777 per day – down nearly 200 since last Sunday. The rolling seven-day average for percent of positive laboratory tests was 13.6 percent.

Over 3.7 million total tests have been administered.

Vaccinations

The vaccine has been administered to 402,169 people in Utah, including health workers, educators and residents age 70 and older.

Gov. Spencer Cox announced Thursday that eligibility for the vaccine was being expanded to those age 65 and older, effective immediately.

The state has administered 607,557 first and second vaccinations. Of those vaccinated, 205,388 people have been fully immunized with both doses.

According to numbers reported by the health department, 9,123 vaccines have been administered since Saturday, and more than 83,500 in the last week.

The number of vaccines delivered to the state was nearly 660,000.

Hospitalizations

The health department reported 241 people were being treated for COVID-19 in Utah hospitals. Total hospitalizations since the pandemic began was 14,445 people.

Utah officials said 73.6 percent of the 537 ICU beds across the state were full. Of those, 100 were being used by patients confirmed to have COVID-19. An additional 22 patients in 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 10 Utahns have died in the last day, according to the Utah Department of Health. The latest COVID-19 deaths included four women and six men.

Officials said seven of the deaths happened before Feb. 1.

Three were hospitalized when they succumbed to the disease. Five were living in long-term care facilities. All of them were over the age of 65.

There have been 1,852 total deaths of residents from the disease in the Beehive State since the pandemic began – an increase of 58 in the last week.

Davis County

Officials reported the deaths of a Davis County woman and man, both between the ages of 65 to 84. Their identities were not released.

The woman was hospitalized at the time of death. The man was living in a long-term care facility.

Their deaths brought the total in the county to 135.

Iron County

An Iron County man was between the ages of 65 to 84 and was not hospitalized when he died.

The man’s death brought the total in the county to 30, and the total in the area covered by the Southwest Utah Health Department to 222. The health district also includes Beaver, Garfield, Kane and Washington counties.

Salt Lake County

Three people from Salt Lake County were among the deaths reported Sunday – including two women and one man.

All three were between the ages of 65 to 84. Two were in long-term care facilities. One of the women was hospitalized when she dies.

There have been 733 COVID-19 deaths in the county.

Sevier County

Officials reported the death of a Sevier County woman older than 85. She was living in a long-term care facility.

Her death brought the total in the county to 10, and was the second death in the small county in the last two days.

Officials have reported 51 deaths in the area covered by the Central Utah Public Health Department, which includes Juab, Millard, Piute, Sanpete and Wayne counties.

Utah County

Three men from Utah County were among the numbers of COVID-19 deaths reported Sunday, according to health officials.

Two were between the ages of 65 to 84 – one was hospitalized and the other was living in a long-term care facility.

The third man was older than the age of 85 and not hospitalized.

The county has reported 319 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

National/Worldwide Numbers

There have been over 28 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States – with around 500,000 new cases in the last week, down from 1 million in the week before.

Nearly 498,000 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 111.2 million cases and 2,462,141 deaths – nearly 150,000 in the last week.

With just 4 percent of the worldwide population, the United States has accounted for 25.3 percent of the global cases and 20.2 percent of the deaths since the pandemic began.

With one percent of the US population, Utah has accounted for about 0.4 percent of the country’s deaths, meaning the state has faired better than the national average.

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.