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SALT LAKE CITY – Mass COVID-19 vaccination sites are expected to start operating in Utah in March and in three months every Utahn who wants protection against the virus should have the opportunity to receive their vaccines, have health officials told state lawmakers on Wednesday.
“We will reach the entire adult population, if 100% of them wanted, by the end of May,” Rich Saunders, executive director of the Utah Department of Health, said Wednesday, to members of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services.
That is just as long as vaccine manufacturers meet the increased doses promised.
“So you promise the masks will be gone by May or June, and we can all open up and start acting normally?” Did I hear? committee chair Senator Mike Kennedy, R-Alpine, asked in a COVID-19 vaccine-focused update.
Saunders laughed before answering, “That’s not what I said,” and Kennedy interrupted him with seemingly mocking exasperation, explaining, “Oh, no.
The executive director continued, “But I would say this to you, man, we’re looking at when it’s the case. Because I’ll be the first to take this mask off and celebrate.
This earned an “Amen” from Kennedy, who later said he thought it was “pretty clear” that the virus “will always be with us”, as will measles and similar illnesses. A doctor himself, Kennedy has said he would like to have access to vaccines at some point for his own patients.
The exchange came as 1,299 new cases of COVID-19 and 17 more deaths from the virus were reported in Utah on Wednesday. To date, 442,476 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Utah, an increase of 16,778 since Tuesday.
Saunders said the state was counting on increased doses of the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines already approved for use in the United States, as well as new vaccines, including from Johnson & Johnson, quickly becoming available from the federal government. .
He said about 78% of the 274,000 healthcare workers, first responders, teachers and K-12 staff received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with about 43% of the estimated 241,000 Utahns at 70. years or older, the most recent group to become eligible.
Some 71% of residents and staff in Utah long-term care facilities have received at least one dose of the vaccine, one of the highest rates in the country, according to Dr. Michelle Hoffman, new deputy director of the Department of state health. .
From March 1, Utahns aged 65 and over and people with specific medical conditions will also be able to get the vaccine. Rich Lakin, the state health department’s immunization program manager, told the committee that a number of partners are operating sites where at least 1,000 vaccines can be administered daily.
These include Intermountain Healthcare, University of Utah Health, and Brigham Young University, Lakin said. A new state contract with Nomi Health, the Orem-based company behind the “Test Utah” COVID-19 testing program, was not presented during the committee hearing.
Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson are expected to appeal on Thursday for volunteers to help with mass vaccination sites as well as with efforts of local health services, ranging from medical professionals to Utahns able to handle logistics and data entry, the committee was briefed.
Additionally, some Smith and Walmart pharmacies are about to start offering free vaccines to Utahns who are eligible for the vaccines.
Appointments must be made online for vaccinations starting Thursday at 39 of 53 drugstores in Smith, Utah and Friday at 18 of 59 drugstores at Walmart and the Sam’s Club Pharmacy in Logan. Patients are asked to bring insurance information, but vaccines are also available for the uninsured thanks to a new federal program.
Lakin said including children in the immunization schedule around May has been discussed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He said so far, Utah has not been included in another federal initiative, setting up health centers for immunizations starting next week in states including Colorado.
The seven-day moving average of positive tests in Utah is now 1,053 per day, according to the state health department.
Another 23,334 tests for the deadly virus have been conducted in Utah since Tuesday, and the number of people tested has increased by 8,988. The seven-day moving average for the percentage of positive tests that include all tests taken is 7% , but that number increases to 15.3% when multiple tests for an individual over a 90-day period are excluded.
Currently, 323 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, bringing the total number of hospitalizations in the state since the pandemic began nearly a year ago to more than 14,000.
The death toll in Utah has now reached 1,765. The latest deaths are:
- A man from Box Elder County, aged 65 to 84, hospitalized at the time of his death.
- A woman from Box Elder County, 65-84, a resident of a long-term care facility.
- A man from Cache County, over 85, hospitalized.
- A woman from Carbon County, over 85, hospitalized.
- Two men from Salt Lake County, over the age of 85, one in hospital and the other in a long-term care facility.
- A woman from Salt Lake County, over 85, a resident of a long-term care facility.
- A man from Salt Lake County, aged 65 to 84, not hospitalized at the time of his death.
- A man from Tooele County, aged 65 to 84, hospitalized.
- Two men from Utah County, over the age of 85, one in hospital and the other in a long-term care facility.
- A woman from Utah County, over 85, a resident of a long-term care facility.
- A woman from Wasatch County, over 85, a resident of a long-term care facility.
- A Weber County woman, over 85, a resident of a long-term care facility.
- A man from Weber County, over 85, hospitalized.
- A man from Weber County, 65-84, residing in a long-term care facility.
- A Weber County man, 45-64, hospitalized.
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