Younger people responsible for majority of new COVID cases in Henrico

Henrico reported 97 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, down from 126 Thursday, and is now averaging 98 new daily cases during the past seven days.

There were no new virus-related deaths or hospitalizations reported in the county Friday, according to Virginia Department of Health data. Twelve Henricoans have been hospitalized by the virus in the past seven days, according to the data.

Henrico’s seven-day positivity percentage among PCR testing encounters as of Aug. 16 (8.3%) was below the state average of 9.1%, but its rapid testing encounter percentage (10.1%) remained slightly above the state average of 9.6%.

Not surprisingly, Henrico’s new cases continue to be occurring primarily in younger people; during the past 12 days, the most cases (168) have occurred in people in their 20s, followed by cases among those in their 30s (155), children and teens 10 to 19 (115) and children 9 and younger (109), according to the data. In total, about 65% of new cases during that time have occurred in people 39 or younger.

Only 52 cases have been reported among people 70 and older during the same timeframe.

Eighty-seven percent of people 65 and older in Henrico are fully vaccinated, making them less susceptible to the virus. By contrast, only about 58% of those 25 to 34 are fully vaccinated, according to the VDH. The only other two age groups in Henrico that haven’t yet achieved at least 70% full vaccination are those 18 to 24 (nearly 69%) and those 12 to 15 (58.1%). The latter group has been eligible for the shortest amount of time.