WASHINGTON, D.C. – The lifting of Utah’s COVID-19 public health orders on Tuesday reflects the state’s status as a national leader in the fight against the coronavirus, according to officials of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Data published Wednesday by Census officials indicates that Utah exceeds the national average in terms of adults who have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
Less positively, however, the state also exceeds the national average in terms of adults who are reportedly hesitant to receive the vaccine.
Census spokesperson Jane Callen says that information comes from the bureau’s latest version of its Household Pulse Survey, which was recently sent to more than 1 million households. That survey, which has now been tweaked to address post-vaccine attitudes and behaviors, generated nearly 70,000 responses.
The Census’ most recent national figures indicate that 69.7 percent of U.S. adults have received at least one immunization shot of COVID-19 vaccine.
Here in Utah, that percentage is 72.3. In raw numbers, that translates to 2.2 million vaccination doses administrated statewide, according to Utah Department of Health spokesperson Jenny Johnson.
That success puts Utah in the company of 19 other states where vaccination rates fall between 70 and 80 percent. Only New Mexico has exceeded an 80 percent vaccination rate, albeit by only a few tenths of a percent.
Census officials says the national average of adults who are reportedly hesitant to receive COVID-19 vaccinations stands at 11.5 percent.
Here in Utah, that percentage is slightly higher at 12.3.
In the recent pulse survey, reasons cited by Utahns who are reluctant to be vaccinated include concerns about side effects (58 percent); lack of faith in the effectiveness of the available vaccines (48 percent); and doubts about the necessity to be vaccinated (47 percent).
The expiration of Utah’s COVID-19 public health orders on Tuesday was triggered by the provisions of House Bill 294, “Pandemic Emergency Power Amendments,” which was enacted by the 2021 general session of the Legislature.
That statute set three conditions for the termination of the state’s long-standing mandates on public gatherings and social distancing. Those were a 14-day case rate less than 191 per 100,000 residents; a seven-day average of COVID-19 patients occupying less than 15 percent of Utah’s intensive care unit beds; and delivery to Utah of more than 1.6 million doses of coronavirus vaccine.
In a letter sent to lawmakers on Tuesday, the achievement of those conditions was certified by Rich Sauders, the executive director of the Utah Department of Health.