The doctor who became a “household name” in Utah’s efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic is stepping down.
On Tuesday, Salt Lake County announced that state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn will lead the county health department, replacing longtime director Gary Edwards, who is retiring. Dunn played a prominent role in the state’s response to the deadly virus and was the subject of both protest and praise.
“DR. Dunn is a household name for her strength and expertise demonstrated in the state during COVID. However, she is equally knowledgeable and committed to all aspects of public health,” said Jenny Wilson, Salt Lake County Mayor , and quoted Dunn’s “broad spectrum of clinical, public health, and epidemiological experience.”
Dunn said in a statement she was “excited to join one of the most respected local health departments in the country. I am honored to serve the people who live and work in Salt Lake County, which is also my home, and I look forward to working with the great public health professionals in Salt Lake County. ”
She has been with the state health department since 2014, starting with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an epidemic intelligence officer, and has been a state epidemiologist since 2018.
“It’s hard to overstate the truly life-saving contributions Dr. Dunn has made to Utah’s COVID-19 response,” Utah Department of Health spokesman Tom Hudachko said in a statement. “Whether it was her calm voice on the podium at the press conference or her capable leadership at the decision-making table, Dr. Dunn has always been an advocate for the health and wellbeing of Utah residents.”
Throughout the pandemic, Dunn was an integral part of the weekly briefings of the governor’s office, which detailed the latest information about the coronavirus in addition to the government at the time. Gary Herbert and his Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox, now Utah Governor, in charge of the response.
Cox described Dunn as “a dedicated civil servant, a staunch advocate of adherence to science, and one of my most trusted advisors. Their expertise and ability to translate complex scientific research into plain text was invaluable during the COVID-19 crisis. I’ll miss having her on the state team, but I’m glad she will continue to serve Utahns who live in Salt Lake County. “
Dunn’s departure comes amid concerns over an increase in COVID-19 cases in several counties.
Corey Clark will receive a COVID-19 nasal swab test at the Utah State Fair Park in Salt Lake City on April 19, 2021. Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News
Doctors aren’t sure what’s behind cases
Three of Utah’s local health departments – Davis, Weber, and Morgan, and Wasatch counties – are seeing spikes in COVID-19 cases, but it’s not clear why this is happening, University of Utah health officials said Tuesday, as the state said 315 new cases reported and eight more deaths from the virus.
“We really don’t know the answer,” said Dr. Russell Vinik, Chief Medical Operations Officer of the Hospital System, told reporters during a virtual press conference. “Right now it’s just a problem. When we see this happening in some counties, it means that this population is breaking out a bit compared to the rest of the state. “
The increase in cases in some counties in the past week to two weeks is based on an analysis of the percentage change in the seven-day moving average new cases by local health departments between January 7 and April 17, said Erin Clouse, U. Manager for strategic engagement in the health sector. A steady decline can be observed elsewhere.
Vinik said there has been a “dramatic increase” in the so-called British variant of the virus in Utah.
In early February, the doctor said data suggests the highly contagious variant that forced bans in the UK and other countries accounted for less than 1% of the COVID-19 cases tested at the university. As of last week, he said, about 40% of health system positive cases come from the variant.
“This is a very rapid increase and that probably contributes to the increased cases we see across the country and may also have something to do with the bags we see,” Vinik said, adding, “we fully expect and quite that cases go away. ” up ”in the next few weeks.
But the impending spike in cases he sees shouldn’t be as bad as other states hit hard by the variant, he said, particularly Michigan, where the mutation is reported to be responsible for about 70% of COVID-19 Cases is responsible. Vinik said Utah was in better shape because the state “does such a good job” with vaccinations.
Just over half, 51% of Utahns 16 and older, had at least one dose of vaccine, Clouse said. Utah was one of the first states to make the recordings available to all adults. The vaccines are not yet approved for anyone under the age of 16.
State reports 8 more deaths, 315 new cases
The Utah Department of Health reported 315 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases since the pandemic started more than a year ago to 393,272.
In Utah, 1,916,922 doses of vaccine were administered, an increase of 18,065 daily.
The seven-day rolling average for positive tests is 375 per day, and 5,100 Utahns have completed 13,574 tests since Monday. The seven-day rolling average for percent positivity of tests is 3.2% when all results are included and 6.7% when multiple tests on an individual are excluded.
138 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in Utah.
The state’s death toll is now 2,174, with the eight deaths reported on Tuesday. These deaths, including four before March 20, are:
• A Uintah County woman older than 85 years of age in a long-term care facility.
• A Carbon County woman aged 65 to 84 who was not hospitalized.
• A Salt Lake County woman aged 65 to 84 who was not hospitalized.
• A Weber County man aged 25 to 44 was hospitalized.
• A Utah County man older than 85 years of age in a long-term care facility.
• A Sanpete County woman, aged 85 or over, resident in a long-term care facility.
• A Weber County woman aged 65 to 84 was hospitalized.
• A Uintah County woman aged 45 to 64 was hospitalized.
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