SALT LAKE CITY – Utah has officially administered more than a million doses of coronavirus vaccine, Gov. Spencer Cox announced on Twitter on Saturday morning.
This figure does not match the Utah Department of Health’s 993,168 figure: 25,687 more doses administered than on Friday, but the discrepancy may be due to the delay notification. Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson reported the total number of “gunshots” at 1,015,380.
A health department spokesman said the administration uses internal sources that are updated more frequently than public ones and that Sunday’s official public count will exceed one million doses.
Cox said the milestone is “amazing” and “speaks to the dedication of our public health teams and private partners.”
“Thank you to everyone who took a historic step,” he said he wrote. “We’re just getting started.”
This morning, Utah has officially surpassed the figure of 1 million doses of vaccine administered. This is an amazing milestone and speaks to the dedication of our public health teams and private partners. Thanks to everyone who took a historic step. We are just getting started.
– Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) March 13, 2021
The health department later released its daily coronavirus update, revealing 491 new confirmed cases and four more deaths in the state.
Overall, this brings Utah to 377,983 confirmed cases and 2,021 related deaths since the pandemic began.
Over the past week, the state has averaged 510 more cases a day and a positive evidence rate of 4.1%. There are currently 144 Utahns hospitalized due to COVID-19, including 59 in intensive care.
The four deaths reported on Saturday were:
- A Davis County woman between the ages of 65 and 84 who resided in a long-term care center
- A 65- to 84-year-old Davis County man who was hospitalized when he died
- A Washington County woman between the ages of 65 and 84 is hospitalized
- A 45- to 64-year-old man who was not hospitalized when he died and whose county of origin is unknown
Currently, Utahns 50 years of age or older are eligible to schedule a coronavirus vaccine, as are Utahns with certain underlying medical conditions. Here is a list of qualifying conditions.
On April 1, Utah plans to extend vaccine eligibility to all adults who want it.