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Vaccines flow, deaths decrease, and masks can come down soon. During the week that Utah marked a year under the threat of the coronavirus, the yoke of the pandemic has begun to rise.
This week, Utah has recorded the lowest number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 in a seven-day period since late October. Since last Monday, 41 people have died from the virus, including one reported Sunday by the Utah Department of Health. This is the lowest death toll from Oct. 19 to 25, a week that recorded 29 deaths, and is less than half of last week’s 83 total. The maximum was 116 from 7 to 13 December.
And the death toll, which ends at 2,000 since the state marked its first virus-related death on March 22, 2020, should continue to fall due to two factors: more vaccinated people and fewer people who get extremely sick.
Gov. Spencer Cox on Thursday opened vaccination appointments to an even wider group of people, including people 50 and older and those over 18 with certain lower-level health conditions. This is in addition to those aged 16 and over with high-risk health conditions, teachers, health workers, long-term care center workers and first aid workers.
“This is the biggest group we’ve ever added,” Cox said Thursday. “And we have more and more vaccines in the state every week. That’s why we feel comfortable doing that. “
Utah has received 185,175 doses of vaccine in the last five days. This includes four days of 30,000 doses or more, plus an additional 400 on Sunday.
Some of these are the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Feb. 27 and began to be assembled in Utah on Wednesday. It is a single-dose vaccine, unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which require a follow-up shot.
Armed with a portion of the state’s initial 23,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccines, Summit County made Cox’s move toward even wider vaccine availability. He opened appointments to anyone 40 years of age or older, from any county, who had pre-registered with the county health department. Rich Bullough, the county’s health director, told Park Record that people 50 and older will still be prioritized, by state mandate.
“Instead of making a mistake in vaccinating fewer people,” Bullough told Park Record, “I made the decision to vaccinate more people.”
Intermountain Healthcare began allowing those who had just met the requirements of the Cox plan to be vaccinated on its website on Thursday, though the governor urged the new group to wait until Monday to avoid website blockages.
“It won’t be possible for everyone in these areas to get an appointment right away,” Cox said Thursday. He advised that people “will have to be patient, they will have to keep checking.”
Perhaps the wait will be less heavy with the knowledge that there are fewer people suffering from serious illness from the virus.
In addition to the lowest mortality rate in four months, the state is registering the lowest number of patients in COVID-19 intensive care units in this period. Employment in the ICU is often used as an indicator of future deaths. Currently, 191 people are hospitalized with the virus and 73 are in the ICU, the least numerous since October 3.
The average daily rate of cases has also been leveled. Last week there were just over 500 cases a day, and that includes Wednesday’s lowest value of 729 new cases. Health officials reported 412 more cases on Sunday. In addition, experts believe that the immunity of the herd is close to 30% in the state.
But if the state does not care, these positive gains could not last long.
Lawmakers passed a bill in the last hours of Friday’s legislative session that will end Utah’s state mask mandate on April 10th. Exceptions will be made for schools and large public meetings.
And on Thursday a bill was sent to the governor’s table that allowed college and university students to attend face-to-face classes even if they are not vaccinated.
Dr Brandon Webb, an infectious disease doctor at Intermountain Healthcare, said the state is still besieged by COVID-19 and the more resistant variants that have recently been discovered. He warned of setting aside masks and other preventative measures too soon.
Only when the number of vaccinated Utahns grows will the state “be able to safely pass the baton of the things we are doing to our immunity.
“And right now,” he said, “we’re not there yet.”
Vaccines administered during the past day / total vaccinations • 12,631 / 855,663.
Fully vaccinated Utahns • 309,882.
Cases reported last day • 412.
Deaths reported last day • 1.
The only death reported was a Cache County man, aged 45 to 64, who was hospitalized at the time of his death.
Hospitalizations reported last day • 191. It has gone down three on Saturday. Of those currently hospitalized, 73 are in intensive care units, four fewer than on Saturday.
Tests reported last day • 4,427 people were tested for the first time. A total of 8,818 people were tested.
Percentage of positive tests • According to the original method of the state, the rate is 9.3%. This is slightly above the seven-day average of 9.2%.
The new state method counts all test results, including repeated tests by the same individual. Sunday’s rate now stands at 4.67%, above the seven-day average of 4.4%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Total so far • 374,850 cases; 1,976 dead; 14,891 hospitalizations; 2,248,121 people tested.
Correction • Sunday, March 7, at 12:47 pm: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect count of vaccines that have been administered in Utah since Saturday.