Utah reports 2,415 COVID-19 cases, 17 deaths since Wednesday
Nov 26, 2021, 11:05 AM
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Health on Friday said 17 more Utahns have died due to COVID-19 and 2,415 residents have tested positive for the virus since Wednesday.
UDOH broke down that case count into the following:
- Wednesday: 1,556 cases
- Thursday: 908 cases
- 41 previous cases were removed following data quality analysis
Of those cases, 548 (22.69%) were in school-aged children.
- 306 cases in children ages 5-10
- 127 cases in children ages 11-13
- 115 cases in children ages 14-18
Currently, 505 Utahns are hospitalized due to the virus and the ICUs at Utah’s 16 referral center hospitals, where the majority of COVID-19 patients are treated, are at 92.4% capacity — above the state’s “functionally full” threshold of 85%.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 1,318 — down from 1,539 on Monday and 1,634 last Monday.
An additional 19,800 vaccine doses have been administered since Wednesday, bringing the state’s total number of vaccine doses given to 4,102,108.
UDOH said over 1.79 million Utahns are now fully vaccinated, over 2.05 million have received at least one dose of a vaccine and 374,545 have received a booster dose.
Children ages 5-11 are now eligible to receive a smaller dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, which has been fully approved by the FDA and CDC, and appointments are now available across the state.
All Utahns age 18 and older, who received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine more than six months ago, or a Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than two months ago, are also eligible for a booster shot.
The FDA and CDC approved booster doses for all Americans last week and urged those age 50 and older to seek one.
Vaccinated vs. unvaccinated risk ratios
UDOH said it has updated how the department calculates risk ratios on its data dashboard.
“We are now reporting age-adjusted risk ratios,” UDOH officials said. “This is an important update that more accurately reflects the risk for the overall population. The change will result in higher risk ratios for the unvaccinated for being hospitalized and dying. This is because the prior method, which did not age-adjust, biased the data toward older adults who are more likely to be both vaccinated and hospitalized or die from COVID-19 than younger people. By age-adjusting, we are better reflecting the true risk for all Utahns.”
In the last 28 days, people who are unvaccinated are at 15.2 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 10.3 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 4.2 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than vaccinated people.
Since Feb. 1, people who are unvaccinated are at 7.8 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 6.6 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 3.1 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than vaccinated people.
Testing
UDOH reports 3,944,461 people have been tested — 16,535 more than Wednesday. Of those, 592,130 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19 — an increase of 2,415 new cases.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 1,318 — down from 1,539 on Monday and 1,634 last Monday.
On June 1, Utah’s rolling seven-day average had dropped to 200 cases.
The rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “people over people” dropped to 16.2% while the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” dropped to 10.4%.
Vaccinations
The state has administered 4,102,108 vaccine doses in total as of Friday, which is an increase of 19,800 over Wednesday’s numbers.
As of Friday, over 2.06 million Utahns had received at least one dose of a vaccine, over 1.79 million Utahns were fully vaccinated and 386,952 have received a booster dose.
Over 5.05 million vaccines have been delivered to Utah.
The eligible population for vaccinations has changed with the expansion of vaccines to the 5- to 11-year-old age group. The state’s dashboard now includes a breakout of vaccines administered for that age group and booster dose administrations.
Data includes the total number of people who have received a booster dose, a breakdown by age (over 65 and under 65), and data on the type of booster dose people have received.
Hospitalizations
Currently, 505 people are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 207 of those people are in intensive care units.
Utah’s ICUs were 89.4% full and the ICU beds in Utah’s referral centers were at 92.4% capacity Friday — above the state’s utilization threshold or “functionally full” mark of 85%. Referral center ICUs were at 101.8% occupancy last Thursday and 99.8% on Friday.
Forty-one percent of Utah’s ICU usage is due to COVID-19 patients.
“At about 69% overall ICU utilization, ICUs in Utah’s major hospitals with the ability to provide best care for COVID-19 patients begin to reach staffing capacity,” UDOH officials said. “Seventy-two percent use among all hospitals and 77% in referral center hospitals creates major strains on the health care system. When 85% capacity is reached, Utah will be functionally out of staffed ICU beds, indicating an overwhelmed hospital system.”
Primary Children’s Hospital delaying non-urgent procedures and surgeries
Deaths
The virus has killed 3,487 of the state’s residents. The following deaths were reported on Friday:
- Female, between 45-64, Davis County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, older than 85, Utah County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 65-84, Utah County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 65-84, Washington County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 45-64, Utah County resident, not hospitalized
- Female, between 65-84, Rich County resident, long-term care facility resident
- Male, older than 85, Utah County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 65-84, Utah County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 45-64, Utah County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 25-44, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 65-84, Iron County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, between 25-44, Iron County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Female, older than 85, Washington County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 45-64, Salt Lake County resident, hospitalized at time of death
- Male, between 25-44, Utah County resident, not hospitalized
- Male, between 25-44, Utah County resident, not hospitalized
- Female, between 45-64, Carbon County resident, not hospitalized
Nationwide Numbers
Coronavirus Resources
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The latest COVID-19 stories from KSL can be found here.
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:
- Get vaccinated
- 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 are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
The CDC recommends Americans should continue wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies).