RICHMOND, Va. -- Health leaders in the Richmond and Henrico Health District say that they're seeing an increase in coronavirus cases among children.
In the coming months, Dr. Melissa Viray says the top two concerns are reaching the unvaccinated and COVID-19 fatigue the latter possibly impacting the decisions people make.
"Regarding whether or not they mask, whether or not they stay home when they feel unwell," Viray, Richmond and Henrico Health Districts' Deputy Director, said.
Viray said that less than 50 percent of those in Richmond have at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine while over 61 percent have had at least one dose in Henrico.
"We continue to be concerned about the impact of the delta variant hospitalizations and ICU hospitalizations are also starting to go on the rise," Viray said. "We continue to see that the overwhelming majority of our cases or hospitalizations are in the unvaccinated."
Viray says both communities still have a high rate of transmission and said the recent surge has driven up demand for testing and vaccinations. Next month, the health district plans to set up weekly community hubs for both areas.
"This is going to be incredibly, incredibly important as we continue to see increasing cases of COVID in our community," Viray said.
Viray says included in the increase are cases among children which includes a death announced Thursday of a child under the age of nine in one of the districts. She said that this tragic death reinforces that even severe cases can occur in those age groups not yet eligible to get vaccinated.
"We who can be vaccinated do everything we can in the community and in their families and kind of surround them with as many vaccinated people as we can," Viray said.
