Henrico reports 160 new COVID-19 cases
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Henrico County reported 160 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, following a downward trend that's been present for the past few days, according to the Virginia Department of Health. That count also matches the seven-day moving average of new daily cases in the county.
In Henrico, Tuesday also brought news of one new hospitalization related to the virus, and one new death from virus complications, according to the VDH.
As of Jan. 29, Henrico's seven-day positivity rate among PCR tests has leveled out to 11.1 percent as of for the past few days, according to the VDH. Rapid antigen testing encounters, as of Jan 29., have garnered a seven-day positivity rate of 7.4 percent, one of the lowest counts since December. This data lags a few days to include as much testing data as possible.
There have been a total of 154 outbreaks in Henrico County, ranking the county third behind Fairfax County and Richmond, according to VDH data. As of Tuesday, 1,029 healthcare workers in Henrico have been infected with the virus.
Vaccine administration efforts in Henrico County are progressing, with more than 36,000 doses having been administered thus far, according to VDH data. More than 5,000 Henricoans have received both doses necessary for full inoculation from the virus.
The vaccine demographics presented by the VDH also reveal patterns about who is getting vaccinated first.
With 742,733 Virginians vaccinated with at least one dose so far, the VDH has been able to compile some data about the identities of these patients.
Demographic information is available for about 57% of those who have received at least one dose, and it shows that people 30 to 59 years old have received more vaccines than any other age range, according to the VDH. As for the racial distribution, more than 325,000 white patients have gotten the vaccine, compared to less than 50,000 Black patients and less than 30,000 Hispanic patients. The VDH also reported that almost twice as many women have received a vaccine than men.
The data suggests that middle-aged white women are receiving vaccines at a higher rate than any other subcategory.
State and local health officials are cognizant of the fact that the virus has had a disproportionate impact on minorities. VDH spokesperson Brookie Crawford said that can be attributed to several factors.
"People of color tend to be disproportionately represented in many front-line essential worker public facing jobs – grocery store workers, bus drivers, for example, and in other essential worker positions, such as meat packers, who do not have the option to work remotely," Crawford said.
In a lot of occupations, like the postal service or public transit, people of color comprise a majority of all their workers. This causes a "disproportionate burden of COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality."
"Vaccination efforts will require focused outreach to frontline and other essential workers to reduce access-related barriers to vaccination," Crawford said. "Local health districts will be holding vaccination events. Eventually neighborhood pharmacies, urgent care centers and federally-qualified health centers, are expected to be among the places offering vaccinations."
Almost nine percent of Virginians have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. More than 35,000 vaccine doses are being administered statewide each day, according to the VDH.
