SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Government Spencer Cox announced that he will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine starting next month.
On March 1, eligibility for the vaccine will be expanded to Utahns ages 65 and older, as well as all state residents who have certain comorbidities, but not all comorbidities, Cox said.
“We’re trying to be more viral than the virus, and it happens,” Cox said.
All information about the eligibility extension is available at coronavirus.utah.gov. Cox stressed that Thursday is just an announcement about the extension of eligibility – those people won’t be able to make arrangements to get the vaccine yet, and they won’t be allowed to contact their local health department, he added.
According to the Utah Department of Health, the number of COVID-19 cases in Utah rose by 1,273 Thursday, with 14 more deaths.
The rolling seven-day average number of positive cases per day now stands at 1,264, according to the health department. The positive test rate per day for that period is now 16.5%.
There are now 365 COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Utah, state data shows. A total of 362,701 vaccines have been administered in the state, up from 345,179 Wednesday.
Thursday’s totals give Utah 351,273 confirmed cases, with 13,697 total hospitalizations and 1,711 total deaths from the disease.
Cox and other state leaders give a COVID-19 pandemic update Thursday morning at a press conference. The event is streamed live below.
This story is being updated.
Jacob Klopfenstein