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0000017b-652b-d50a-a3ff-f7efb02e0000KPCW's COVID-19 news coverage for Summit County and Wasatch County, Utah. 0000017b-652b-d50a-a3ff-f7efb02f0000You can also visit the Utah Department of Health, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization websites for additional information.

Gov. Herbert: ‘We Have Many Months Yet To Go’ as Utah Readies for COVID-19 Vaccine

At this week’s COVID-19 Briefing, Utah Governor Gary Herbert acknowledged the state has months to go before the pandemic is over and announced new quarantine guidelines for individuals who have been exposed to the virus.

As Utah nears nine months since COVID-19 restrictions went into place at the end of March, it looks like we’re starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel with two vaccines currently awaiting emergency FDA approval.

At Thursday’s weekly COVID-19 briefing, however, Governor Herbert cautioned Utahns that although the end may be in sight, it is still months away. 

“Unfortunately, the reality is we have many months yet to go before we get out of the woods of this challenging time that we face with this COVID-19,” Herbert said. “The CDC, in fact, indicates that the next few months, maybe the next 45 to 60 days may be the toughest stretch of all.”

With winter now here and life mostly taking place indoors, Herbert warned that things could continue to get worse before they get better if mask wearing and social distancing do not continue.

Utah saw a brief dip in COVID-19 cases over the Thanksgiving holiday but has experienced a steady increase in the percentage of positive tests since Monday. Governor Herbert said the spike was not surprising and the full extent of the effect of Thanksgiving on case numbers is still unknown.

“Unfortunately, as we’re starting to see now, and we’re not surprised, the case numbers are starting to go back up,” said Herbert. “It’s about six days after Thanksgiving and we’re going to see that number increase, I hope not too dramatically, but we’re seeing it dramatically enough already.”

Drug companies  Pfizer and Moderna have applied for emergency use authorizations with the FDA for their vaccines and Governor Herbert said he expects them to be approved sometime in the coming weeks.

The Utah Department of Health has released a vaccination distribution guide that details the timeline of who will be able to receive a vaccine once they do become available.

Frontline healthcare workers are first in line, followed by first responders, residents of long-term care facilities, and essential workers. According to the Health Department, vaccinations should be available to all Utahns sometime between March and July of next year, depending on the supply.

Herbert added there are currently no plans to require all Utahns to be vaccinated.

“Now know we have no plans to make that a mandate, by the way, mandated to have a vaccine, but we think that most of the people in Utah will want to have one to protect themselves and their loved ones,” he said.

State Epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn also announced new state quarantine guidelines for individuals who believe they have been exposed to the virus. The guidelines are in line with new CDC recommendations announced this week.

If you have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19, the quarantine period is now 10 days instead of 14. Quarantine ends after 10 days if you remain asymptomatic. Additionally, you can test out of quarantine with a negative COVID-19 test after seven days of isolation.

Despite the changes, Dunn said there is still a risk of contracting the virus after quarantine and a negative test.  

“The purpose of these changes to the quarantine guidelines is to reduce the hardship that has been placed on individuals due to a full 14-day quarantine,” said Dunn. “However, there is still risk to developing COVID after a 10-day quarantine or after testing negative on day seven, so it is still so important to wear a mask and practice physical distancing as much as possible.”

More information on Utah’s COVID-19 response and vaccination plan can be found here.  

Sean Higgins covers all things Park City and is the Saturday Weekend Edition host at KPCW. Sean spent the first five years of his journalism career covering World Cup skiing for Ski Racing Media here in Utah and served as Senior Editor until January 2020. As Senior Editor, he managed the day-to-day news section of skiracing.com, as well as produced and hosted Ski Racing’s weekly podcast. During his tenure with Ski Racing Media, he was also a field reporter for NBC Sports, covering events in Europe.