Business leaders want Utah to reach 70% adult vaccination rate by Fourth of July

Shanelle Brin, RN nurse resident, shows a senior dose of the flu shot at a drive-thru flu vaccine clinic for veterans at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)

SALT LAKE CITY — Although 64% of adults in Utah have received the coronavirus vaccine to date, state and business leaders are pushing for more to get vaccinated before the Fourth of July.

“We were very quick to get 60%, and then it’s a very, very difficult task to get that last 10% (of the state’s 70% goal),” said Rich Saunders, executive director of the Utah Department of Health.

“We want to prevent a resurgence in the fall. We want to do the right things to put this thing to bed and not relax before it’s all the way to bed,” he said.

The state has seen “some uptick” in recent cases and hospitalizations, which Saunders described as…

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