SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Health is reporting seven new deaths in Utah from COVID-19 since its release of Sunday numbers, including a man and woman from Utah County between the ages of 25 and 44 who were not under hospital care.
These latest numbers bring Utah’s death toll from the novel coronavirus to 1,500 even as the state scrambles to ramp up testing and the administration of the vaccine.
The state agency says 568 people remain hospitalized with the virus, with ICU beds at or near capacity. The number of people hospitalized in Utah since the outbreak is 12,576. The rolling seven-day average for positive tests is 2,154 per day, while the average for percent of positive laboratory tests is 21.1%.
Overall, 1,906,909 people in Utah have tested for the virus, an increase of 4,649 tested since Sunday.
The health department says there have been 324,919 positive cases for COVID-19 since the outbreak, with Utah adding 1,082 new cases in Monday’s report.
Statewide, there have been 168,908 doses of the vaccine administered, with 16,399 added since Sunday. The health department reports that 153,979 people have received the first dose, and of those, 14,929 have gotten their second shot.
That information comes as a mass vaccine distribution site opened Monday at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy by appointment only for people age 70 and older.
Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, who was at the site Monday, said in a telephone interview with the Deseret News that health care workers expected to deliver just under 1,000 doses to people by day’s end.
“I wish we had more doses,” she said. “We could probably administer four times the amount than we are able to get out today.”
She said large centers like the Mountain America site vastly increase the efficiency of time spent for both patient and health care workers when it comes to administration of the vaccine.
“It has been working really, really well,” she said, adding that people are getting in and out of the center in about 20 minutes, including the 15-minute mandatory precautionary wait time after the vaccine is given.
“As with any vaccine, people approach a little bit nervous but leave with big smiles on their face.”
She said there are people on hand to help those who may be in a wheelchair or require other assistance. Many people are walking in on their own power.
Wilson there will be other mass vaccination sites that open, but those efforts are hindered by the shortfall in the amount of vaccine available.
“Three percent of our population has been vaccinated to date, we want to get it closer to 70%.”
This story will be updated.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/38W3NsN
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