Utah reports 1,981 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, passes 600K cases

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Health on Thursday said 1,981 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19. UDOH officials reported zero additional deaths due to technical difficulties with their reporting system.

Of those cases, 353 (17.82%) were in school-aged children.

• 161 cases in children ages 5-10
• 85 cases in children ages 11-13
• 107 cases in children ages 14-18

Currently, 519 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 95.7% full — above the state’s “functionally full” threshold of 85%.

NEW: As of today, the vast majority of COVID patients at @Intermountain hospitals (85%) are unvaccinated.

Of breakthrough pts needing hospital care, most are older individuals w/compromised immune systems. Vaccines are working. #GetVaccinated #utpol pic.twitter.com/gHj6EfJWxI

— Jess Gomez (@Jess_Intermtn) November 30, 2021

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 1,265 — up from 1,123 on Monday but down from 1,539 last Monday.

An additional 19,525 vaccine doses have been administered since yesterday, bringing the state’s total number of vaccine doses given to 4,175,180.

UDOH said over 1.8 million Utahns are now fully vaccinated, over 2.07 million have received at least one dose of a vaccine and 426,998 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 earlier this month and urged those age 50 and older to seek one.

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Vaccinated vs. unvaccinated risk ratios

UDOH released the following statement Thursday:

“The Utah Department of Health has improved the way it is reporting breakthrough cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. Prior to now, information about these cases had to be manually compiled by UDOH staff. That process has now been automated by linking two databases that contain vaccination and case information. The database linkage allowed the Department to identify additional breakthrough cases, hospitalizations, and deaths dating back to the beginning of the vaccine rollout that were not identified through the previous, manual process. As a result, the cumulative number of these cases has increased by approximately 15%. While this change affects the rate of breakthrough cases compared to unvaccinated cases, the trendline of these cases remains stable; further evidence the COVID-19 vaccines are very good at protecting people against hospitalization and death. These data can be found on the public dashboard under the “Risk Factors” tab.”

In the last 28 days, people who are unvaccinated are at 13.5 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 9.1 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 3.5 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than vaccinated people.

Since Feb. 1, people who are unvaccinated are at 6.7 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 5.6 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 2.6 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than vaccinated people.

Testing

UDOH reports 3,994,006 people have been tested — 10,013 more than yesterday. Of those, 600,079 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19 — an increase of 1,981 new cases.

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 1,265 — up from 1,123 on Monday but down from 1,539 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” rose to 14.6% while the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” rose to 9.7%.

Vaccinations

The state has administered 4,175,180 vaccine doses in total as of Thursday, which is an increase of 19,525 over yesterday’s numbers.

As of Thursday, over 2.07 million Utahns had received at least one dose of a vaccine, over 1.81 million Utahns were fully vaccinated and 426,998 have received a booster dose.

Over 5.1 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, 519 people are hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 204 of those people are in intensive care units.

Utah’s ICUs were 91.3% full and the ICU beds in Utah’s referral centers were at 95.7% capacity Thursday — above the state’s utilization threshold or “functionally full” mark of 85%.

Thirty-nine 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.”

Deaths

The virus has killed 3,545 of the state’s residents. No additional deaths were reported Thursday due to technical issues with the state’s reporting system.

Nationwide Numbers

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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.

Click here to sign up for a vaccine and here to see how Utah’s vaccine rollout is progressing.

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).