SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced Thursday that residents of the state 16 and older who have certain comorbidities can now receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Previously, the eligibility date for Utahns with comorbidities was expected to be March 1, but Cox said those people could be effective immediately. The full list of comorbidities that make people eligible for the vaccine is available at coronavirus.utah.gov/vaccine-distribution/#eligibility.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has only approved the Pfizer vaccine for 16- and 17-year-olds, Cox said. If people in that age group want to get the vaccine, they have to schedule an appointment at a vaccination center that offers the Pfizer vaccine, the governor added. Not all vaccine clinics have the Pfizer vaccine and a list of clinics that have it will be provided at coronavirus.utah.gov/vaccine.
Cox also announced Thursday that people who want the vaccine no longer have to wait to make an appointment in their home county. If you can find an appointment available in another county, you can now make an appointment. However, you have to make an appointment for the second dose of vaccine in the same county where you made your appointment for the first dose, Cox said.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox provides an update on the COVID-19 pandemic at a news conference. The event started at 11am is being played live here. Utah State Department of Health epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn also plans to speak at the press conference.
New COVID-19 cases
On Thursday, the number of COVID-19 cases in Utah increased by 832, with 11 more deaths reported, according to the Utah Department of Health.
Four of the deaths occurred last month, but were still being investigated by the state medical office, the health department said. The state also reported 18,563 more vaccines as of Thursday.
According to the health department, the average number of positive cases per day for seven days is 723. The percentage of positive tests per day for the time period communicated with the “people on people” method is now 12.4%. The positive test rate per seven-day day calculated using the “test over test” method is now 5.7%.
There are currently 221 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Utah, according to state data. A total of 660,444 vaccines have been administered in the state, up from 641,881 on Wednesday.
This story will be updated.
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