Cases of COVID spiking in Henrico children, teens – but hospitalizations remain rare

Children and young adults in Henrico contracted COVID-19 at much higher rates in July than they did in May or June, but only one county resident under the age of 20 was hospitalized because of the virus in July, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health analyzed by the Henrico Citizen.

But the county also witnessed the first death of a person under the age of 20 in July – the victim was 10-19 years old and died July 17, according to the VDH. No additional information was immediately available about him or her, or whether underlying health conditions were a factor.

In Henrico, 119 children nine or younger contracted COVID-19 in July – three more than did so in May and June combined, according to the VDH. Cases among children and teens 10-19 in Henrico during July totaled 120 – 23 fewer than the combined number reported in May and June.

In total during the first seven months of this year, more than 2,800 Henrico residents under the age of 20 are known to have contracted the virus (1,053 were nine or younger, and 1,781 were 10 to 19).

But the good news is that only seven of those youngsters were hospitalized by the virus (and only one of those hospitalizations occurred in July), according to the VDH data.

Statewide, two children 9 or younger (including one in Chesterfield County) and seven youngsters between the ages of 10 and 19 (including the recent Henrico victim and another from Chesterfield) have died from COVID, according to the VDH.

As the delta variant has gained traction nationally and locally this week, local, state and federal health officials have urged people to resume wearing masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status, as a way to slow its spread.

The delta variant spreads as easily as chickenpox, according to a Centers for Disease control report, and each infected person tends to infect eight or nine other people – about four times as many as a person with the original strain of the virus did. Some vaccinated people – though largely protected against serious outcomes from the new variant – may be transmitting the virus to others, CDC officials have said, which is why they renewed their calls for universal masking.

The advice is designed in large part to help protect those who are unvaccinated – including children younger than 12, who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated. Vaccines may be available for children in that age range this fall, though an exact timeline is not yet known.

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To learn where to find a COVID-19 vaccine, visit https://vaccinate.virginia.gov.