State has administered more than 2 million vaccine doses
With demand for COVID-19 vaccinations dropping off in Utah and other parts of the country, it’s time for some tough talk with those who are reluctant to get the shots, a doctor from the region’s largest health care system said Friday as the state topped two million vaccine doses administered.
“We’ve got to get to that population that are more on the fence, the ones that are kind of hesitant about, not quite sure about it,” Dr. Eddie Stenehjem, an Intermountain Healthcare infectious diseases physician, told reporters during a virtual news conference.
Even with nearly 900,000 Utahns now considered fully vaccinated, Stenehjem said the state won’t be able to get back to normal until more of the people who have held back get the shots, so it’s important to “have frank conversations with them, non-emotional conversations. We need to know why they are hesitant.”
The pause in using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration on April 13 after initially six women developed rare but serious blood clots following their shots likely was a factor, he said.
“I do think the pause and the reports of these adverse events certainly probably gave people a little pause and made them a little more hesitant in getting the vaccine. I think it’s our job to get out and really highlight that the safety program worked,” Stenehjem said.
Later Friday, an advisory panel told federal authorities the use of the vaccine should be resumed.
It may take several discussions with family and friends — as well as with doctors and other health care providers — to sell someone on the importance of getting vaccinated, Stenehjem said, but “it’ll come, and we just have to keep doing our best to get out there and make sure we’re having conversations.”
At Intermountain Healthcare, vaccinations are routinely recommended, he said.
Those who are dead set against vaccinations are not likely to change their minds, the doctor said, but described “anti-vaxxers” as in the minority, and they should not be confused with Utahns who aren’t convinced they need to get the shots.
“Make sure they understand why it’s important. If they don’t perceive themselves as a risk, think about and tell a story about how they could potentially transmit to a loved one,” he said when asked for advice about talking a family member into getting vaccinated.
Gov. Spencer Cox said Thursday Utah’s COVID-19 cases have plateaued, and state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn, who is leaving her post to head the Salt Lake County Health Department, said demand for vaccinations is decreasing.
The Utah Department of Health reported Friday that 2,014,815 vaccine doses have now been administered in the state, a daily increase of 29,519. At the same time, there have been 344 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death from the virus since Thursday.
There have been 394,678 positive coronavirus cases in Utah since the pandemic started more than a year ago. The rolling seven-day average for positive tests for the virus is 369 per day, with 4,580 Utahns taking 15,833 tests since Thursday.
The rolling seven-day average for percent positivity of COVID-19 tests in Utah is 2.9% when all results are included, the method used by the state to help determine county transmission levels, and 5.8% when multiple tests by individuals are excluded.
Currently 140 people are hospitalized with the coronavirus in Utah, putting the total hospitalizations in the state for COVID-19 at 16,033. Utah’s death toll is now at 2,179, with the loss reported Friday of a Utah County man between 65-84 who was a long-term care facility resident when he died before March 23.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/32I7D4Z
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