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SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah's new COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations continue to rapidly decline, a new study by the Chamber of Commerce says Utah and other states have likely reached their limits on the population that will choose to get vaccinated.
The Chamber of Commerce ranks Utah 10th-highest in the U.S. among states with a large number of residents who "don't trust the government" when it comes to the vaccine.
According to U.S. Census data, 41.3% — or 151,739 — of Utahns who responded to the survey cited distrust in government as one of their reasons for not getting vaccinated, and 84.1% — or 314,383 — of adults who aren't yet vaccinated said they aren't likely to do so, the chamber noted.
Montana, Alabama and Kentucky ranked in the top three states with the highest percentage of residents who said they distrust the government.
Meanwhile, case numbers continued to fall, as the Utah Department of Health reported just 94 new cases and five additional deaths on Tuesday.
The rolling, seven-day average for positive tests is now 166 per day. Just over 2,000 people were tested for COVID-19 since the previous day's report. Of the new cases, 19 were children, according to the health department.
On Tuesday, 187 people were hospitalized with the coronavirus across the state — a decrease of 10 since Monday.
Just over 2,000 people received a vaccine dose since Monday's report. Now 74.7% of Utahns ages 5 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine; 66.2% are fully vaccinated; and 33.5% of people ages 12 and older have received booster shots.
The state has now confirmed 925,966 COVID-19 cases and 4,550 deaths due to the disease since the pandemic began in the spring of 2020. Of those statistics, 171,740 cases were "breakthrough," meaning they were considered fully vaccinated when they tested positive for the disease, and 525 deaths were breakthrough.
Health officials say the vaccines continue to protect people from serious illness. In the last 28 days, unvaccinated residents have experienced five times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 2.1 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and two times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than vaccinated people, according to the state health department.
Compared to people who received booster shots, unvaccinated residents within the last 28 days are at 19.2 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19, 5.1 times greater risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19, and two times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19, health officials said.
The deaths reported Tuesday include:
- A Salt Lake County man between 45 and 64, who was hospitalized when he died.
- A Salt Lake County woman, 65-84, hospitalized.
- A Salt Lake County man, 65-84, hospitalized.
- A Utah County woman, 25-44, unknown hospitalization status.
- A Weber County woman, 45-64, hospitalized.
