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SALT LAKE CITY — While healthcare professionals continue to urge the unvaccinated to get their COVID-19 shot, Utah has seen a modest uptick in vaccinations during the past month.
With full FDA approval now for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, healthcare professionals nationwide hope to see a surge in vaccinations.
It's still too early to tell what difference that will make, but more Utahns have been getting their shot for another reason.
Many people who have been hesitant about getting the COVID-19 vaccine have indicated that full FDA approval was something for which they were waiting.
"I would like to think that's the case. I know a lot of people said that they were waiting for that approval," said Michael Bronson, who oversees community COVID-19 testing and vaccination clinics for University of Utah Health. "We're kind of waiting for that to happen, and our vaccine team is mobilized and looking every week at ways to respond."
People are getting vaccinated at more than 1,300 different locations across Utah.
The Beehive State has seen a modest uptick in vaccinations over the last six weeks. Since early July, a rise in average daily vaccinations from 4,500 to 7,500.
"For us, (the vaccination campaign) kind of bottomed out in late June, early July," Bronson said. "Then, it started to tick up again, so for us, we've seen about a 50 percent increase in the number of vaccines that we're giving every day."
For us, we've seen about a 50 percent increase in the number of vaccines that we're giving every day.
–Michael Bronson, University of Utah Health
That rise happened after the delta variant emerged in Utah, with a surge in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
"The staff are talking to patients and reporting back what they're hearing," Bronson said, adding that it sounds like the delta variant was a top reason for now getting vaccinated.
"I believe there are more people who are concerned about that and may be thinking, now is the time for me to go get it," Bronson said.
He said one-on-one conversations with healthcare providers seem to be the most productive ways to reduce vaccine-hesitancy among patients.
Many people are also getting COVID-19 vaccines while they are attending the doctor's office for other routine care.
