Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.
The number of Utahns hospitalized with COVID-19 jumped by 28 in the past day to a total of 549, according to the Utah Department of Health. And 209 of those patients are in intensive care.
A data analyst at one of Utah’s largest hospitals noted Thursday that the state’s current surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations rivals the peak of last winter’s surge, with one difference — the current one is longer.
Erin Clouse, strategic engagement manager for University of Utah Health, said in a Facebook Live community briefing that the current surge has stretched for 12 weeks as hospitalizations hover between 500 and 600 a day with no sign of letting up. The surge that hit Utah hospitals last winter lasted about nine weeks, she said.
While Utah hospitals are seeing the same number of COVID-19 patients now as they did last winter, the difference is that there are fewer available staffers to treat those people, said Dr. Kencee Graves, associate chief medical officer for University of Utah Hospital.
“We don’t have the strength of a bench, for lack of a better term, like we did last year,” Graves said. Last year, the U. Hospital was able to create a 20-bed supplemental intensive care unit, with volunteers to staff it.
”We don’t have those extra people anymore, and the people that are still here have been doing those extra shifts for almost two years,” Graves said. “We’re all tired of doing it, and I worry about our ability to continue to stress our health care workers.”
The Health Department also reported 1,397 new coronavirus cases in the past day. The rolling seven-day average of new cases stands at 1,332.
And there were 10 more deaths, including four people who were under the age of 65.
The number of children getting vaccinated continues to climb — 78,233 children ages 5-11 have gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine since they became eligible; that’s 21.4% of kids within that age range in Utah, according to the Health Department, with 9.6% fully vaccinated.
Intensive care units in the state remain near capacity. UDOH reported Thursday that 93.1% of all ICU beds in Utah and 97.5% of ICU beds in larger medical centers in the state are occupied. (Hospitals consider any figure over 85% to be functionally full). Of all ICU patients, 42% are being treated for COVID-19.
Vaccine doses administered in the past day/total doses administered • 18,066 / 4,291,96.
Number of Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,850,172 — 56.6% of Utah’s total population. That is an increase of 4,884 in the past day.
Cases reported in the past day • 1,397.
Cases among school-age children • Kids in grades K-12 accounted for 255 of the new cases announced Wednesday — 18.3% of the total. There were 126 cases reported in children aged 5-10; 55 cases in children 11-13; and 74 cases in children 14-18.
Tests reported in past day • 8,337 people were tested for the first time. A total of 16,980 people were tested.
Deaths reported in past day • 10.
Half of those deaths occurred in Salt Lake County — a man between the ages of 25-44, two women 45-64 and two men 65-84.
Five other counties each reported a single death — a man 65-84 in Emery County; a woman 65-84 in Iron County; a man 65-84 in Wasatch County; a woman 65-84 in Washington County; and a woman 45-64 in Weber County.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 549. That is 28 more than reported on Tuesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 209 are in intensive care, 10 more than reported on Tuesday. And 43.6% of patients in ICUs are being treated for COVID-19.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 16.8% in the past day. That is higher than the seven-day average of 15.3%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Wednesday’s rate was 8.2%, lower than the seven-day average of 10%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Risk ratios • In the past four weeks, unvaccinated Utahns were 15.5 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to a Utah Department of Health analysis. The unvaccinated also were 9.3 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 3.6 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.
Totals to date • 609,351 cases; 3,632 deaths; 26,477 hospitalizations; 4,055,402 people tested.
Weekend vaccination sites
The Salt Lake County Health Department announced Thursday that it will offer COVID-19 vaccines on Saturdays and Sunday at two sites through the end of January. Executive director Angela Dunn challenged vaccinated adults who live or work in Salt Lake County to get a booster shot and encouraged children and unvaccinated adults to be fully vaccinated by Feb. 1.
“The omicron variant appears to be more transmissible than previous variants, and it has caused increased hospitalizations in South Africa,” Dunn said. “Being fully vaccinated — plus booster, if applicable — is the best way to prevent yourself from being hospitalized from COVID. Our hospitals cannot handle another surge of COVID patients.”
There will be two weekend sites — the Salt Lake County Government Center, located at 2001 S. State Street, and the South Redwood Public Health Center, located at 7971 S. 1825 West in West Jordan.
Appointments are available at vaccinate.utah.gov, but not required. Both sites will be closed on Christmas Day, but will be open on New Year’s Day.
Follow @ScottDPierce