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Nearly 280,000 Utahns are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19

The state’s coronavirus death toll continues to climb closer to 2,000.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Megan Low adminsiters a Covid 19 vaccination to Margret Maumau, during a news conference, as the Utah Department of Health is announced that they are teaming with Intermountain Healthcare, Nomi Health and University of Utah Health, to open mass vaccination sites for the next phase of COVID-19 vaccinations, on Monday, March 1, 2021.

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Almost 280,000 Utahns have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 — about 8.5% of the state’s population — and health officials have changed the way they tally that number.

Previously, the Utah Department of Health reported the number of people who had received both doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, which each require two shots. Now, that number also includes people who have received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Also on Thursday, UDOH reported 611 new cases of COVID-19 and a dozen more deaths. Seven of those occurred before Feb. 11 and were only recently confirmed as coronavirus-related.

The state also removed two deaths reported Feb. 23 from the coronavirus list — a man between the ages of 45 and 64 in Davis County, and a woman 65 to 84 in Cache County, which have been determined were not the result of COVID-19.

Vaccine doses administered in past day/total vaccine doses adminisitered • 25,990 / 785,523.

Utahns fully vaccinated • 277,717.

Cases reported in past day • 611.

Deaths reported in past day • 12.

Utah County reported five deaths — a man between the ages of 65-84, and four men 85-plus.

There were three deaths in Weber County — a man and a woman 65-85, and a woman 85-plus.

Two Salt Lake County residents died — a man 65-84 and a woman 85-plus.

And two counties each reported one death — a man 65-84 in Box Elder County and a man 85-plus in Davis County.

Hospitalizations reported in past day • 203. That’s down nine from Wednesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 87 are in intensive care units — five fewer than on Wednesday.

Tests reported in past day • 7,286 people were tested for the first time. A total of 18,363 people were tested.

Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 8.4%. That’s lower than the seven-day average of 10%.

The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Wednesday’s rate is now at 3.3%, lower than the seven-day average of 4.8%.

Totals to date • 373,319 cases; 1,965 deaths; 14,816 hospitalizations; 2,230,041 people tested.