The state reports 23 more fatalities, as the number of people fully vaccinated is close to 340,000.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) People come to the appointment to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at Farmington’s Davis County Legacy Center on Monday, March 8, 2021. Utah’s mass vaccination sites look like ‘have just met their appointment schedules. the first day that people 50 years of age or older are officially eligible to receive the first dose.
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Nearly a year after the first Utahn died of COVID-19, the state exceeded 2,000 deaths in total.
The Utah Department of Health reported 23 additional casualties Thursday, bringing the total to 2,015. Fifteen of the last 23 reported deaths occurred before February 11 and were confirmed to be COVID-19 related after additional testing.
The state’s first recorded death from coronavirus was announced on March 22, 2020.
All but two of the 23 deaths reported Thursday were 65 or older and 14 were 85 or older.
The state also reported that more than 34,000 people were vaccinated on Wednesday, as the number of people fully vaccinated, either with the Modern or Pfizer vaccine doses or with the Johnson & Johnson, single-dose vaccine, s ‘approached 340,000.
Dose of vaccines administered last day / total doses administered • 34,290 / 936,681.
Fully vaccinated Utahns • 339,743.
Cases reported last day • 646.
Deaths reported last day • 23.
Salt Lake County reported eight deaths: two women between the ages of 65 and 84 and three men and three women over the age of 85.
In Davis County there were four deaths: a man aged 45 to 64, a man aged 65 to 84 and two women over 85.
Washington County reported three deaths: a 45-64-year-old man and a 65- to 84-year-old man and woman.
Two Utah County residents were killed: a 65- to 84-year-old man and a 85-year-old man.
Six counties reported a single death: a woman over 85 in Box Elder County; a woman over 85 in Cache County; a 65- to 84-year-old woman in Iron County; a man over 85 in Kane County; a man over 85 in Uintah County; and a woman over 85 in Weber County.
Hospitalizations reported last day • 167. This has gone down eight from Wednesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 66 are in intensive care units, seven fewer than on Wednesday.
Tests reported last day • 8,139 people were tested for the first time. A total of 18,923 people were tested.
Percentage of positive tests • According to the original state method, the rate is 7.93%. This is below the seven-day average of 8.44%.
His new method counts all test results, including repeated tests from the same individual. Thursday’s rate now stands at 3.41%, below the seven-day average of 4.03%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Total so far • 376,973 cases; 2015 dead; 15,014 hospitalizations; 2,273,483 people tested.
This story is being developed and will be updated.