The Utah Department of Health (UDOH) has discovered an error in the way the Department had previously been interpreting federal vaccination data. As a result, UDOH has revised the reported percentage of Utah adults who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. As of July 12, 2021, 67.07% of Utah adults have received at least one dose rather than the 70.2% previously reported.
This includes 1,495,752 doses reported through the state’s data system and 29,880 doses reported through the federal data system, for a total of 1,525,632 total first doses administered to Utahns ages 18 and older. These doses divided by the 2019 adult population of 2,274,774 equals 67.07% of the adult population.
COVID-19 vaccine doses administered by federal agencies like the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Indian Health Services, and the Bureau of Prisons are not reported directly to the state’s immunization data system. Instead, UDOH staff access these data through a federal system called Tiberius.
The UDOH mistakenly interpreted all federal doses reported in Tiberius as “new” doses, when in fact Tiberius reports “cumulative” doses. This misunderstanding led to single doses being counted multiple times.
It is disappointing to discover we did not reach our goal of vaccinating 70% of adults with at least one dose by July 4. And we regret that inaccurate information was relayed to Gov. Cox and the people of Utah. But we remain steadfast in our commitment to presenting data accurately, transparently, and with integrity.
With the highly transmissible Delta variant spreading in Utah, it is more important than ever for all eligible Utahns to get vaccinated. We will continue to do everything we can to make getting vaccinated as easy as possible, and to help provide Utahns accurate information to help them make informed decisions about the vaccine.
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