(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Science teacher Robert Campos cleans desks in his classroom as students return to Salt Lake City Highland High School on Monday, February 8, 2021.
The number of new COVID-19 cases remains low in Utah: 651 on Friday, the 13th day of the last two weeks, the number has been less than 1,000.
However, the state recorded 17 new deaths from the virus, although eight of these occurred before February 5th. Hospitalizations and intensive care patients also rose slightly on Friday.
Dose of vaccines administered the day before / total doses administered • 22,092 / 682,536.
Number of Utahns who have received two doses • 239,877.
Cases reported last day • 651.
Deaths reported last day • 17; eight of these passed before February 5th.
• Salt Lake County Nine: two men between the ages of 45 and 64; a man and two women, each aged 65 to 84; two men and two women, each aged 85 or over.
• Two Utah County residents: a man 85 years of age or older and a woman 45 to 64 years old.
• Two Weber County residents: a man and a woman, each 85 years of age or older.
• Two men, ages 45 to 64: one from Iron County, one from Tooele County.
• A Uintah County woman aged 85 or over and a Washington County man aged 65 to 84 years.
Hospitalizations reported last day • 231. That exceeds 10 since Thursday. Of those currently hospitalized, 94 are in intensive care units, seven more than on Thursday.
Tests reported last day • 5,498 people were tested for the first time. A total of 15,599 people were tested.
Percentage of positive tests • According to the original method of the state, the rate is 11.8%. This is slightly below the seven-day average of 12.3%.
His new method counts all test results, including repeated tests from the same individual. Friday’s rate is now 4.2%, lower than the seven-day average of 5.6%.
Total so far • 370,084 cases; 1,907 dead; 14,628 hospitalizations; 2,194,674 people tested; 3,781,119 tests performed.
Dr. Mark Briesacher, chief executive officer of Intermountain Healthcare, said Friday that he is excited that a third vaccine, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, will be available in Utah as soon as next week.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Briesacher said during the weekly COVID-19 community meeting on Facebook Live, is effective in preventing serious cases, which could lead to hospitalization or death. The Federal Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve emergency use of the new vaccine as early as Saturday.
“Do you prevent serious and serious illnesses? Do you foresee death? The answer to these things is “yes,” Briesacher said.
“It’s going to be really great for Utah in general because it’s a simpler vaccine” than the Pfizer or Modern versions available now, Briesacher said. “It’s just a single dose. It is stored more easily. This gives us a lot of flexibility to focus on offering it equitably across the state. ”
The possibility of three vaccines available for COVID-19 is a long way from February 28, 2020, a year ago this Sunday, when Briesacher participated in the first meeting of the state incident command, “all focused to prepare to accept this first [COVID-19] pies in Utah, ”he said.
“It’s been a tough and challenging year,” Briesacher said. “We will all look back this year and consider it some of the most difficult moments and some of the most rewarding moments. … And yet, we are in a really fantastic place where there is a lot of optimism about the future ”.