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The number of new cases of COVID-19 remains low in Utah — 651 on Friday, the 13th day in the past two weeks the number has been below 1,000.
However, the state recorded 17 new deaths from the virus, though eight of those happened before Feb. 5. Hospitalizations and intensive-care unit patients also ticked up slightly Friday.
Vaccine doses administered in past day/total doses administered • 22,092 / 682,536.
Number of Utahns who have received two doses • 239,877.
Cases reported in past day • 651.
Deaths reported in past day • 17; eight of these happened before Feb. 5.
• Nine from Salt Lake County: Two men between 45 and 64; a man and two women, each 65-84; two men and two women, each 85 or older.
• Two Utah County residents: A man 85 or older, and a woman 45-64.
• Two Weber County residents: a man and a woman, each 85 or older.
• Two men, 45-64 — one from Iron County, one from Tooele County.
• A Uintah County woman 85 or older, and a Washington County man 65-84.
Hospitalizations reported in past day • 231. That’s up 10 from Thursday. Of those currently hospitalized, 94 are in intensive care units — seven more than on Thursday.
Tests reported in past day • 5,498 people were tested for the first time. A total of 15,599 people were tested.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 11.8%. That’s slightly lower than the seven-day average of 12.3%.
Its new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Friday’s rate is now at 4.2%, lower than the seven-day average of 5.6%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 370,084 cases; 1,907 deaths; 14,628 hospitalizations; 2,194,674 people tested; 3,781,119 tests performed.
Dr. Mark Briesacher, chief physician executive at Intermountain Healthcare, said Friday he’s excited that a third vaccine, made by Johnson & Johnson, should be available in Utah as soon as next week.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, Briesacher said during Intermountain’s weekly COVID-19 community briefing on Facebook Live, is 85% effective at preventing severe cases — ones that could lead to hospitalization or death. The federal Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve emergency use of the new vaccine as soon as Saturday.
“Does it prevent severe and critical disease? Does it prevent deaths? The answer to those things is ‘yes,’” Briesacher said.
“It’s going to be really great for Utah, overall, because it is a simpler vaccine” than the Pfizer or Moderna versions now available, Briesacher said. “It’s only a single dose. It’s stored more easily. That gives us a lot of flexibility to focus on delivering this in an equitable way across the state.”
The prospect of three vaccines available for COVID-19 is a far cry from Feb. 28, 2020 — a year ago this Sunday — when Briesacher sat in on the first meeting of the state’s incident command, “all focused on preparing to accept that first [COVID-19] patties in Utah,” he said.
“It’s been a tough, challenging year,” Briesacher said. “We’re all going to look back on this year and think of it as some of the most challenging times, and some of the more rewarding times. … And yet we find ourselves in a really great place where there’s a lot of optimism about the future.”
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