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Almost 1,500 more Utahns tested positive for COVID-19 in the past day — and about 1 in 4 of them were school-age children.
According to the Salt Lake County Health Department, a child age 4 or younger is currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and is on a ventilator. The department made no other information about the child available.
The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) reported 1,491 new cases on Thursday, and 358 of those cases were among kids in grades K-12. There were 160 cases in children ages 5-10; 73 cases in children 11-13; and 125 cases in children 14-18.
The rolling seven-day average for positive tests stands at 1,153 per day — the highest that number has been since Feb. 5.
Ten more Utahns died of the coronavirus in the past day. Seven of them were under the age of 65, three of them were under the age of 45, and one was between the ages of 15 and 24.
The case count is up 370 compared to one week ago (1,121 on Aug. 19). It is 2 1/2 times what it was a month ago (613 on July 26), and almost five times what it was three months ago (307 on May 26). Six months ago, there were 687 new cases (on Feb. 26); and a year ago, there were 387 new cases (Aug. 26, 2020).
In the past four weeks, unvaccinated Utahns were 4.6 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to a UDOH analysis. The unvaccinated were also 6.4 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 4.9 times more likely to test positive for the coronavirus.
An additional 4,077 Utahns were fully vaccinated in the past day, bringing the total to 1,560,756 — 47.7% of Utah’s total population.
According to the UDOH, Utah has seen 9,285 “breakthrough” cases of COVID-19 — people who contracted the virus two weeks or more after being fully vaccinated. That’s 0.6% of people who are fully vaccinated.
Only 518 of those people required hospitalization — 0.3% of those fully vaccinated. And there have been 48 deaths — 0.003% of those fully vaccinated.
Vaccine doses administered in past day/total doses administered • 8,907 / 3,221,165.
Utahns fully vaccinated • 1,560,756.
Cases reported in past day • 1,491.
Deaths reported in past day • 10.
Davis County reported three deaths: Two men between the ages of 25-44, and a woman 65-84.
The other deaths were a Salt Lake County man 45-64, a Box Elder County man 65-84, a Cache County man 85-plus, a Tooele County man 15-24, Utah County man 45-64, a Washington County man 45-64, and a Weber County man 45-64.
Tests reported in past day • 11,411 people were tested for the first time. A total of 17,876 people were tested.
Hospitalizations reported in the past day • 463. That’s eight fewer than on Wednesday. Of those currently hospitalized, 185 are in intensive care, four fewer than on Wednesday.
Percentage of positive tests • Under the state’s original method, the rate is 13.1%. That’s lower than the seven-day average of 15.4%.
The state’s new method counts all test results, including repeated tests of the same individual. Wednesday’s rate was 8.3%, lower than the seven-day average of 10.8%.
[Read more: Utah is changing how it measures the rate of positive COVID-19 tests. Here’s what that means.]
Totals to date • 458,589 cases; 2,615 deaths; 19,949 hospitalizations; 3,097,998 people tested.
One of Utah’s largest insurance providers will give a $100 incentive to people who get vaccinated against COVID-19.
SelectHealth — the insurance arm of Intermountain Healthcare — announced Thursday that it will offer the incentive to members of Utah-based plans who haven’t yet received a COVID-19 vaccine and meet eligibility criteria. Those people can get the incentive after they get one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or the required two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna versions before the end of the year.
The incentive will be in the form of a $100 gift card. People who are on a Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) plan will get the $100 added in their health incentive account (HIA) or health savings account (HSA).
The offer took effect Thursday. Details, including the eligibility criteria, can be found at selecthealth.org/getvaccinated.
The incentive “is intended to encourage completion of the COVID vaccine so that we can all live the healthiest lives possible,” Dr. Russ Kuzel, SelectHealth’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.
SelectHealth serves more than 950,000 members across Utah and Idaho.
Tribune reporter Sean P. Means contributed to this article.
