SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Gov. Spencer Cox says he is getting more optimistic about COVID-19 vaccines as the weeks go by.
The state is now getting an increased allocation of the Moderna vaccine, bringing the total number of vaccines shipped to Utah each week to 40,000, including both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, the governor said. Previously, the state received about 33,000 doses per week.
In addition, state leaders expect the number of vaccines shipped to the state could reach 100,000 a week in March or April, Cox said. Federal approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected in February, and AstraZeneca is also preparing to submit its vaccine for approval.
Approval of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is expected to allow Utah to significantly ramp up vaccinations, especially among people with co-morbidities, Cox said. He expects to make an announcement next week about which comorbidities will make people eligible for vaccination.
While it would take months to vaccinate each Utahn at the rate of 100,000 doses per week, it’s still a big improvement, the governor said.
“I’m more optimistic now than a week ago,” Cox said on Thursday.
On Thursday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and Utah Department of Health epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn provided a COVID-19 pandemic update at a press conference. Watch the rerun of the press conference below.
Demand for vaccines still outstrips supply
Of the nearly 400,000 vaccine doses shipped to Utah so far, only 95 have been thrown or thrown away, Cox said Thursday.
A state audit of vaccines revealed that 95 doses were not used, mainly because of vials or syringes damaged in transit, the governor said.
There have been reports from other states of large amounts of vaccine doses being thrown away due to regulations on how to use them, but there is no evidence that that happens in Utah, Cox added. While health departments and facilities that administer vaccines must use the doses within seven days of delivery, doses older than seven days are reassigned and not wasted, the governor said.
Demand for the vaccine continues to outstrip supply in Utah, state leaders said. Currently, health workers, first responders, K-12 teachers and staff, and anyone over 70 are eligible for a vaccine in Utah.
Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson said she completed her tour of all 13 local health districts in Utah last week. They’ve all been instructed to keep lists of people who want the vaccine but haven’t been able to make an appointment, Henderson said. They have also been asked to keep a standby list of people who are eligible for vaccines who could receive a vaccine at the end of the day, so that any extra doses not used that day are not wasted. Henderson added.
While state leaders acknowledge that getting a vaccine appointment is difficult in some areas, lists are being drawn up to streamline the process and get as many vaccines in arms as possible, the lieutenant governor said. The visits to the health districts were “very eye-opening” and a great experience, she added.
“I cannot stress enough the great work these local health workers are doing,” Henderson said.
While demand still outstrips the supply of vaccines in Utah, state leaders hope this will change soon, she added.
“We encourage everyone to be patient,” said Henderson.
New COVID-19 cases
According to the Utah Department of Health, the number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose by 1,761 on Thursday, and no more deaths have been reported.
The health department did not report any deaths from a data transmission error on Thursday, the agency reports clarified in a tweet Thursday afternoon. Deaths reportedly reported Thursday will be added to Friday’s COVID-19 statistics report, the health department said.
In … today #COVID-19 update of the number of cases, zero new deaths were reported. This was due to a data transmission error. Deaths that would have been reported today are added to tomorrow’s number of cases.
– Utah Dept. of Health (@UtahDepOfHealth) January 28, 2021
The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day is now 1,710, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that period is now 18.3%.
The health department estimates there are now 43,187 active COVID-19 cases in Utah.
Additionally, the seven-day moving averages for new COVID-19 cases and positive test results have also decreased from last week, health department epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn said Thursday.
“All of these key indicators are definitely going in the right direction,” she said.
While Utah has seen those promising trends to kick off the New Year, Dunn urged people to keep doing what they are doing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Utahns are being vaccinated, but not enough people have been vaccinated for herd immunity yet, so people should continue to take preventative measures to stop the spread, Dunn added. That means continuing to wear masks, keeping social distance, staying at home when sick and practicing good hygiene, she said.
People are also being urged to upgrade their masks from fabric to medical face coverings if possible, Cox said. Utah leaders are working with President Joe Biden’s administration to potentially purchase more such masks to distribute to Utahns, Cox said.
“The correct quality mask protects the user,” said the director.
Thursday’s new figures point to a 0.5% increase in positive cases since Wednesday. Of the 2,000,023 people tested for COVID-19 so far in Utah, 17.1% have tested positive for the disease. The total number of tests conducted increased by 18,134 as of Thursday, and 10,917 of those were tests from people who had not previously been tested for COVID-19, according to state data.
There are currently 444 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Utah, including 157 in intensive care units, state data shows. About 84% of the IC beds in Utah were occupied on Thursday, including about 89% of the IC beds in the state’s 16 referral hospitals. According to the health department, about 56% of non-intensive care hospital beds in Utah are occupied.
A total of 267,027 vaccines have been administered in the state, up from 250,448 Wednesday. Of these, 43,089 are second doses, state data shows.
Thursday’s totals give Utah a total of 342,445 confirmed cases, with 13,279 total hospitalizations and 1,620 total deaths from the disease. According to the health department, a total of 297,638 Utah COVID-19 cases are now considered recovered.
Methodology:
The test results now include data from PCR tests and antigen tests. Positive COVID-19 test results will be reported to the health department immediately upon confirmation, but negative test results may not be reported until 24 to 72 hours.
The total number of cases reported by the Utah Department of Health each day includes all cases of COVID-19 since the Utah outbreak began, including those currently infected, those who have recovered from the disease, and those who have died .
Recovered cases are defined as anyone who was diagnosed with COVID-19 three or more weeks ago and has not died.
Referral hospitals are the 16 hospitals in Utah that can provide the best COVID-19 healthcare.
Deaths reported by the state usually occurred two to seven days before reporting, according to the health department. Some deaths may be further back, especially if the person is from Utah but died in another state.
The health department reports both confirmed and probable deaths from COVID-19 according to the case definition outlined by the Council of State and territorial epidemiologists. Death rates are subject to change as the investigation of the case is completed.
For deaths reported as COVID-19 deaths, the person would not have died if they had not had COVID-19, according to the health department.
The data in this story primarily reflects the state of Utah as a whole. Visit your local health district website for more localized information.
More information about Utah’s health guidelines is available at coronavirus.utah.gov/utah-health-guidance-levels.
Information is from the Utah Department of Health and coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts. For more information on how the Utah Department of Health collects and reports COVID-19 data, visit coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts and scroll down to the “Data Notes” section at the bottom of the page.
Jacob Klopfenstein