Utah reports 140 COVID cases, 1 additional death in final daily report

SALT LAKE CITY — In the final daily report of COVID-19 numbers, the Utah Department of Health on Thursday said 140 Utahns have tested positive for the virus since yesterday and one man has died due to COVID-19.

Of those cases, 12 (8.57%) were in school-aged children:

• 6 cases in children ages 5-10
• 2 cases in children ages 11-13
• 4 cases in children ages 14-17

Currently, 93 Utahns are in the hospital with confirmed cases of COVID-19 — a decrease of two since yesterday and the state’s lowest count since May 11 (63).

UDOH also said daily COVID updates will end on Thursday.

“After Thursday, March 31, 2022, the COVID-19 data dashboard will update once a week, instead of daily, on Thursdays. This is similar to how often data on other respiratory diseases, like flu, are reported.”

Utah moves into ‘steady state’ of pandemic, many testing options are going away

Hospitalizations

Of the 93 people currently hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, 18 of those people are in intensive care units — a decrease of one from yesterdays’ count.

Utah’s ICUs were 67.8% full Thursday and the ICU beds in Utah’s 16 referral centers, where the majority of COVID-19 patients are treated, were 71.2% full — below the state’s utilization warning mark of 77%.

Just four 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.”

Vaccinations

As of Thursday, 5,008,767 vaccine doses have been given in Utah — an increase of 3,447 since yesterday.

Over 2 million Utahns are now fully vaccinated, over 2.25 million have received at least one dose of a vaccine and over 896,000 have received a booster dose.

Over 6.17 million vaccine doses have been delivered to the Beehive State.

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.

Children ages 5-11 are 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 available across the state. Moderna’s vaccine has also received full U.S. approval.

All Utahns age 18 and older, who received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine more than five months ago, or a Johnson & Johnson vaccine more than two months ago, are also eligible for a booster shot.

Three studies released by the CDC offer more evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are standing up to the omicron variant, at least among people who received booster shots.

Booster shots needed against omicron, CDC studies show

Teens ages 12 to 17 are also eligible for a Pfizer booster dose.

The FDA and CDC have approved booster doses for Americans and urged those age 50 and older to seek one.

Vaccinated and booster vs. unvaccinated risk ratios

In the last 28 days, people who are unvaccinated are at 8.9 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 4.3 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 1.8 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than boosted people.

In the last 28 days, people who are unvaccinated are at 2.6 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 1.8 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and 1.8 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than vaccinated people.

Testing

UDOH reports 5,016,322 people have been tested — 4,123 more since yesterday. Of those, 927,922 Utahns have tested positive for COVID-19 — an increase of 140 new cases.

The rolling seven-day average for positive tests was 111 — down from 116 on Monday and 134 the previous week.

The rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “people over people” remained at 4% while the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of “tests over tests” rose slightly to 2.9%.

Deaths

The virus has killed 4,714 of the state’s residents. UDOH said the death reported today occurred before Feb. 28:

• Male, between 65-84, Washington County resident, hospitalized at time of death

UDOH added a previous death has been retracted:

• Feb. 9: Male, between 65-84, Sevier County resident, hospitalized at time of death

Nationwide Numbers