SALT LAKE CITY — With COVID-19 cases spiking in the state, leaders from Utah's major medical healthcare systems joined together Wednesday to address concerns the rise will have on hospitals and caregivers.
Leaders from University of Utah Health, Steward Health, Intermountain Healthcare, and HCA/MountainStar will discussed the state's current status as doctors are basically pleading with residents who haven’t been vaccinated to rethink their decision.
WATCH: Concerns grow as delta variant of coronavirus infects vaccinated people
June was an especially difficult month, vaulting Utah to number six in the nation for new COVID cases, with the state now recording eight new cases per 100,000 people.
The spike is due mainly to the Delta variant and non-vaccinated Utahns.
Hospitals are seeing the Delta variant at six times the rate of those who have been vaccinated, and it’s affecting younger people, mainly between the ages of 25-44 along with those 45-64 years old.
“The frustrating part about all of this, is that unlike last year, we have all the tools to stop this pandemic in its tracks. The COVID-19 vaccines work,” said Dr. Michelle Hoffman of the Utah Health Department. "But we frankly just need more people to be vaccinated. The highly-transmissible nature of the Delta variant has changed the game and we’re clearly seeing this surge related to our unvaccinated population.”
Officials are urging people to get the information, imploring them to get the vaccine because it could be a matter of life and death.