UTAH, July 6, 3032 (Gephardt Daily) — Gov. Spencer Cox says Utah met its goal for 70% of the population age 18 and older to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by July 4.
In a 20-part tweet issued Tuesday morning, Cox admitted the Center for Disease control does not agree with that assessment, so he broke down his reasoning in the series of posts, combined below:
Big news: We’ve hit the 70% vaccination goal for Utahns 18+!
Here’s how: As of July 4, the @UtahDepOfHealth showed 65.2% of Utahns 18+ had received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose.
But that doesn’t count doses administered by the VA, Department of Defense, those in corrections facilities, or by Indian Health Services. When those 114,908 federal doses are counted, that brings us to 1,596,999 doses.
Utah’s population of 18+ is 2,274,774. The percentage of those 18+ with their first dose (1,596,999/2,274,774) is 70.2%! And this number is only going to go up.
Some may ask: If we’re at 70.2%, why does the @CDCgov only show Utah at 64.4% of 18+ year olds vaccinated with at least one dose?
We’ve had multiple conversations with the CDC about those discrepancies, and they are working to resolve them.
This is truly a milestone worth celebrating!
We’d like to thank those of you who went and received your first dose vaccination. During the last two weeks (June 21-July 4), 36,219 first doses were administered, including 245 first doses that were recorded on the 4th. This is phenomenal!
We couldn’t have done it without our @UtahDepOfHealth team who has worked so diligently since the beginning of this pandemic.
We also can’t thank our local health departments enough. They scrambled to take the lead on setting up mass vaccine sites all across the state, and they continue to provide vaccines in their communities.
We’d like to thank @SaltLakeChamber for their partnership in initiating the “Bring it Home” campaign, and businesses who encourage vaccinations for employees and their families.
Most of all, we’re grateful for all the nurses, doctors, health care workers, hospitals and volunteers (including @UTNationalGuard) who continue to work tirelessly to get us all vaccinated!
While we hit our “70% by July 4” goal, we’re not out of the woods yet. Unfortunately, the pandemic is not over. We’re still very concerned about the recent rise in cases and hospitalizations.
And some parts of the state, including many of our rural areas and communities of color, remain below 70% vaccinated. We’ve got to keep working to exceed 70% statewide.
If you have questions or concerns about the coronavirus vaccine, talk with your doctor. Visit http://coronavirus.utah.gov to find a vaccine site or to book a mobile unit to come to your workplace, church, social club, or neighborhood.
Thanks again, Utah!
We’ve hit the 70% vaccination goal for Utahns 18+!
A previous graphic contained an error. Read our full thread here: https://t.co/uYyW9GRcZC https://t.co/ozfbCwSBg3 pic.twitter.com/UTbuj6McIp
— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) July 6, 2021
