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Utah reports 375 new COVID-19 cases and 15,236 more vaccinations

Two Utahns have died since Saturday, both men.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Melissa Filippone helps people get checked in as they line up for the COVID-19 vaccine at the Utah Film Studios in Park City on Thursday, March 18, 2021.

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The total number of COVID-19 vaccines delivered to Utah last week rose steadily by the day, as did the total number of doses administered.

Within a seven-day period that began on March 15 and concluded Sunday, Utah had 176,780 vaccines delivered, while 141,582 doses were administered. The seven-day average of doses administered actually went down from the beginning of the week to the end, but remained on an overall path forward, sitting at 20,464.71 on Sunday. Per the Utah Department of Health, 15,236 vaccines were administered on Saturday, bringing the total number of vaccinations to 1,152,282.

As those numbers go up, it should be noted that according to the state, there is a stockpile of 170,768 doses. That figure is based on the difference between doses delivered and doses administered.

All of this comes as the state is readying to open COVID-19 vaccinations to a wider segment of the population. The Salt Lake County Health Department expects to open scheduling to all Utahns beginning on Monday, while the medical systems at the University of Utah and Intermountain Healthcare have already started taking reservations.

The vaccine distribution section of the Utah Department of Health’s website notes that the vaccine will be available statewide to all Utahns on Wednesday.

Average cases counts are trending downward, but only slightly. Statewide, there were only 375 new positive cases reported Sunday, bringing the total since March 15 to 3,029. The seven-day average for positive cases sat Sunday at 464.29. Also, Sunday marked the fifth consecutive day in which the seven-day average for positives went down.

Salt Lake County only saw 1,029 new cases over the seven-day period, while the seven-day rolling average dropped over the course of the week. On March 15, the rolling average in Salt Lake County was 174.14, but by Sunday, it was 160.14.

The 17 deaths reported statewide on Friday were an anomaly, at least for this seven-day period, when there were 35 total deaths. There were zero deaths reported on March 15, and just two each on Saturday and Sunday. That leaves the death toll from COVID-19 since the pandemic started at 2,062.

The number of intensive care unit beds occupied rose slightly during the week, but only from 66.4% to 70.3%. That latter figure is still well below the pandemic highs of near or at 100% just prior to New Year’s.