Henrico reports more than 200 new COVID-19 cases for second consecutive day

Henrico has witnessed its second consecutive day with more than 200 new COVID-19 cases – the first time that’s happened since Jan. 25 and 26.

The county reported 218 new cases Thursday, a day after reporting 203. On Jan. 25 and 26, it witnessed 235 and 239 new cases, respectively.

Henrico is now averaging 168 new daily cases during the past seven days and has a case-rate per 100,000 people of 50.9 in that time.

The Virginia Department of Health reported only one new hospitalization in Henrico related to the virus Thursday, and the county is averaging just one new hospitalization per day during the past week. Only one death attributed to the virus has been reported in Henrico since Dec. 17.

Hospitalizations and deaths typically trail a surge in new cases by several weeks, but it remains to be seen whether that trend will repeat itself locally this time. The now-dominant Omicron variant, while much more transmissible than previous variants, may be less severe than others, according to some initial studies.

But state and federal health officials are urging caution because it’s unclear at this point whether those findings mean the variant inherently causes less severe outcomes or simply that it’s infected more people who already have some immunity through vaccination or previous infection, thereby reducing the severity of its effects.

Previously unvaccinated Henricoans are continuing to get their first doses at a higher rate than they were even earlier this month, according to VDH data. A total of 606 have gotten their first shots in the past two days, a 21% increase from the 499 who did so Dec. 1-2.

One-hundred eighty of the most recent new vaccine recipients in the county were children between the ages of 5 and 11, but significantly, 81 others were between 18 and 24, and 90 were between 25 and 34. That latter demographic is particularly noteworthy, because aside from young children (who only became eligible for the vaccine in November), it has the lowest one-dose vaccination rate in Henrico (68%).

All other groups in the county except for teens 16-17 have seen at least 79% of their populations inoculated with at least one dose.

Health officials have pointed to the 25 to 34 demographic as an important one from a vaccination standpoint, because people in that age range typically are most likely to be interacting with others at higher rates than some other age groups and therefore more likely to spread the virus if they get it – even if they don’t suffer significant consequences themselves.