Utah’s COVID-19 death toll hits 1,500 when vaccination site opens

SALT LAKE CITY – Joyce Durrant says Monday’s process was pretty straightforward.

“It was easy. No pain. No tension. Nothing at all.

She was one of many Salt Lake area residents who were fortunate enough to make an appointment Monday at the county’s newly opened mass vaccination clinic at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy.

The vaccination effort comes as the Utah Department of Health reported seven more deaths in Utah from COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll to 1,500. The health department has said there had been 324,919 positive cases for COVID-19 since the outbreak, with Utah adding 1,082 new cases in Monday’s report.

Statewide, 168,908 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, including 16,399 more since Sunday. The health department said 153,979 people received the first dose and 14,929 of them received their second injection.

The mass vaccine distribution site in Sandy, open by appointment only to people aged 70 and over, is the first deployment of the vaccine in Salt Lake County to the general population in an effort that is expected to continue indefinitely – as long as there are doses to deliver.

Richard and Joyce Durrant were among those who received the vaccine at the exhibition center.

Richard Durrant said his doctor forbade him to go to work, which was a hardship.

“I am too sensitive to COVID. I have high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis, ”he said.

Durrant said he misses driving the bus and the camaraderie of his colleagues, so he’s hoping the vaccine helps him get a doctor’s note to return to work.

Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, who was at the exhibition center site on Monday, said in a telephone interview with Deseret News that healthcare workers were to provide just under 1,000 doses to people by the end of the day.

Steve Griffin, Deseret News

“I wish we had more doses,” she said. “We could probably administer four times the amount that we are able to get out today.”

She said large centers like the Mountain America site dramatically increase the efficiency of time spent by both patients and healthcare workers in administering the vaccine.

“It really works really well,” she said, adding that people walked in and out of the center in about 20 minutes, including the mandatory 15-minute precautionary period after the vaccine was given to ensure that ‘there is no reaction.

“As with any vaccine, people approach a little nervous but walk away with big smiles on their faces,” Wilson said.

There are people on hand to help those who may be in a wheelchair or need other assistance, the mayor said, but many people enter on their own.

Wilson said there will be other mass vaccination sites that will open, but those efforts are complicated by the lack of vaccine available.

“Three percent of our population has been vaccinated so far, we want to bring it closer to 70%,” she said.

At Mountain America, Wilson choked on the deaths, the challenges of battling the virus, and the immense pressure it has placed on so many lives.

“This virus has shocked us as a community,” she said. “I think of the isolation of so many people.”

Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson was also at the exhibit center, but she stressed that this was not to look over the shoulder of Salt Lake County officials, but to make them understand that the new administration of governor supported them.

“We are very impressed with the operation,” she said. “We are here to help.”

Henderson added that the rollout of the vaccine to the general population of Salt Lake County residents aged 70 and over marks progress towards halting the deadly reach of the novel coronavirus.

“It was a pretty brutal year,” she says. “And it’s really exciting to see a way to end this pandemic.”

Steve Griffin, Deseret News

Bells to mark the state’s death toll

Also on Monday, Governor Spencer Cox ordered the bells of the State Capitol to ring at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday as part of a national COVID-19 memorial in honor of the lives lost.

Cox said the bells would ring 15 times in remembrance of the 1,500 Utahns who have died since March of last year.

“We will never forget the heavy toll this deadly virus has taken in this state, and we pray for the comfort and peace of families and friends left behind,” Cox said. “We hope all Utahns will join them in honoring those we have lost during this national moment of remembrance.

Monday’s Health Department Case Report

The state agency says 568 people remain hospitalized with the virus, with intensive care beds at or near full capacity. The number of people who have been hospitalized in Utah since the outbreak is 12,576. The seven-day moving average of positive tests is 2,154 per day, while the average percentage of positive laboratory tests is 21.1%.

A total of 1,906,909 people in Utah have been tested for the virus, an increase from 4,649 tested since Sunday.

The seven deaths reported on Monday include four women:

• A resident of Weber County aged 25 to 44 hospitalized at the time of death.

• An out-of-hospital Utah County resident aged 25 to 44.

• A Utah County resident aged 45 to 64 hospitalized at the time of death.

• And an out-of-hospital Washington County resident aged 45 to 64.

Three deceased men were:

• An out-of-hospital Utah County resident aged 25 to 44.

• A Washington County resident aged 65 to 84 in hospital at the time of death.

• A resident of Weber County aged 65 to 84 who was not hospitalized.