18 more Utahners are dying, and intensive care units in the state’s major medical centers are 101.4% full.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Colton Shakespear delivers a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a drive-through event organized by the Utah County Health Department in Spanish Fork on Friday, September 10, 2021 .
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According to a new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccination offers more than five times the protection against COVID-19 than catching and recovering from the virus.
The study looked at more than 7,000 people in nine states who were hospitalized with a “COVID-like illness” and found that those who had a previous case of the coronavirus but weren’t vaccinated were five times more likely to be re-infected than those who were vaccinated but never became infected with the virus.
“We now have additional evidence to support the importance of COVID-19 vaccines even if you’ve had an infection,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky. “The best way to stop COVID-19, including the occurrence of its variants, is to get widespread COVID-19 vaccination” along with “wearing masks, frequent hand washing, physical distancing and staying home when sick”.
The study found that unvaccinated people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 3 to 6 months were 5.49 times more likely to have confirmed cases of the coronavirus than adults who took both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna Received the vaccine.
The CDC’s announcement came on a day when the Utah Department of Health reported 18 more COVID-19 deaths in the state. Seven of the victims reported on Friday were under 65 years old – one was 25-44 years old and six were 45-64 years old.
The intensive care units in the state’s larger medical centers are congested – 101.4% of those intensive care beds are occupied, according to the health department. And 98.8% of all ICU beds in the state are occupied. 39.6% of all intensive care patients are being treated for COVID-19.
The health department reported 1,810 new coronavirus cases on Friday. The 7-day rolling average for positive tests is 1,571 per day.
Last day, an additional 1,893 Utahners were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, bringing the total to 1,750,001 – 53.5% of the total Utah population.
Vaccine Doses Delivered / Total Doses Delivered On Last Day • 12,856 / 3,731,272.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,750,001.
Cases reported on the previous day • 1,810.
Cases in School-Age Children • Children in grades K-12 made up 349 of the new cases reported on Friday – 19.3% of the total. 176 cases have been reported in children aged 5 to 10 years; 80 cases in children 11-13; and 93 cases in children between the ages of 14 and 18.
Tests Reported Last Day • 9,561 people were tested for the first time. A total of 19,208 people were tested.
Deaths reported on the last day • Dec.
There were four deaths in Salt Lake County: a man 45-64, two women 65-84, and a woman over 85. Washington County also reported four deaths: a man 25-44, a man 45-64, and a man and a woman 65-84.
Three Davis County residents died: one woman and two men, all 65-84 years old. There were also three deaths in Utah County: two women 45-64 and one man 65-84.
Other deaths included: a man from Box Elder County 45-64, a man from Duchesne County 65-84, a man from Uintah County 45-64, and a woman from Weber County over 85 years old.
Hospital stays last day • 535. That is one fewer than reported on Thursday. Of those currently hospitalized, 205 are in intensive care – two more than reported on Thursday.
Percentage of positive tests • According to the original state method, the rate is 18.9% over the last day. That’s more than the 7-day average of 17.1%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same person. On Friday, the rate was 9.4%, below the seven-day average of 11%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Risk Rates • In the past four weeks, unvaccinated Utahners were 19 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than vaccinated individuals, according to a UDOH analysis. The unvaccinated were also 10.8 times more likely to be hospitalized and 5.3 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.
Total numbers so far • 549,882 cases; 3,208 deaths; 24,011 hospital stays; 3,698,023 people tested.
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