Mobile clinics to boost vaccination effort in Utah fight COVID-19

SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake County officials on Wednesday unveiled two new ‘mobile health centers’, vehicles intended to bring COVID-19 vaccines to homes as well as to underserved areas of the valley, with the state having reported to have exceeded a quarter of a million doses administered to the Utahns.

“We’re going to go get those in need,” Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said at a press conference to view the vans purchased with federal coronavirus relief funds. “The most important thing for us in our community now is a vaccine. We are working hard to ensure that as many vaccines as possible are given daily. “

The need continues to grow, as the Utah Department of Health reported new cases of COVID-19 and seven more deaths on Wednesday, 2009.

County Human Services Director Karen Crompton said the coronavirus outbreak has “disproportionately affected our diverse and underserved communities,” but the new units “make it possible to meet people where they are. “.

Crompton said the county had already vaccinated around 1,000 older Utahns identified through programs such as Meals on Wheels.

While mobility means county health workers will be able to reach more Salt Lake area residents with doses of the vaccine, especially in places where language and other issues may present barriers , the mayor warned that Governor Spencer Cox’s executive order on who can be vaccinated has yet to be followed.

So far, healthcare workers, emergency service personnel, first responders, residents and staff of long-term care facilities, teachers and school staff, as well as those aged 70 and over are eligible. The Utah Department of Health said 12,811 doses of the vaccine had been administered since Tuesday, for a total of 250,448 doses to date.

“The point here is that we want to get a vaccine for everyone, at the right time,” Wilson said, adding that it will be easier and more efficient if people can get to designated vaccination sites. “But we recognize that this is not the case for everyone. These mobile units will therefore fill in the gaps. ”

This will likely include homeless youth and county residents with underlying medical conditions that would make it difficult to access a vaccination site, the mayor said, once these groups are added to the governor’s list at as more and more vaccine doses become available.

President Joe Biden told states on Tuesday to expect an increase of about 16% in their weekly vaccine allocation, from about 8.6 million doses to about 10 million. Biden also announced plans to purchase an additional 200 million doses in the coming months, increasing supply by around 50% to some 600 million doses by the summer.

That’s good news for Salt Lake County, which saw all available vaccination appointments quickly booked through February, once the slots opened for former Utahns. Wilson said the county was already moving up a wait list, a process that could be expedited if more doses became available.

More than 90,000 county residents have been vaccinated since late December, including just over 38,000 who received their doses directly from the county, according to county health director Gary Edwards.

There have been 340,684 positive cases of COVID-19 in the state since the start of the pandemic last March and just under 2 million people have been tested for the virus in the state, including 10,156 since Tuesday, a indicated the Ministry of Health. The seven-day moving average of positive tests is 1,758 per day and 18.44% for the percentage of positive laboratory tests.

Currently, 452 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, bringing the total number of hospitalizations in the state to 13,217.

The death toll in Utah is now 1,620, including the seven deaths reported on Tuesday:

• A man from Millard County, aged 65 to 84, hospitalized at the time of his death.

• A man from Washington County, between 65 and 84, hospitalized at the time of his death.

• A man from Utah County, aged 45 to 64, hospitalized at the time of his death.

• A man from Tooele County, over 85, hospitalized at the time of his death.

• A man from Washington County, aged 65 to 84, residing in a long-term care facility.

• A woman from Utah County, aged 45 to 64, hospitalized at the time of her death.

• A man from Grand County, over 85, hospitalized at the time of his death.