News Flash

July 30, 2020 - Covid cases continue to increase in Hampton, likely due to the more transmissible and more severe delta variant. With one day left in the month, July’s new cases are more than three times the number in June.

People under 20 accounted for only 12 % of Hampton’s cases in the 3-month period that ended in January 2021. For the three months ending this month, they make up 21% of new cases. There has also been an increase in the number of younger people with severe enough cases to warrant hospitalization. For the three months ending in January 2021, people under 20 were 1% of the number of Hampton residents hospitalized with Covid. That has grown to 5%.

The percentage of cases among people in their 20s has remained essentially flat — growing only from 21% to 23% between the three months ending in January 2020 to the three months ending in July 2020. However, the increase in hospitalized 20- to 29-year-olds has risen from 4% to 9% in the same time period.

Those numbers mirror the national trend, as healthline.com reported yesterday:

"According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, data, recent weeks have shown an increase in COVID-19-related hospitalizations for all age groups, with hospitalized adults ages 18–49 accounting for the largest increase."

The article continued: "Experts say high vaccination rates among older adults are responsible for the decline in this demographic, but the most common denominator for those hospitalized with severe COVID-19 is not being vaccinated." The CDC says "COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing COVID-19, including severe illness and death.”

Vaccines are plentiful in the Hampton area. They are free, and being given at many doctors’ offices and pharmacies, largely by appointment. To find a site, go to https://www.vaccinefinder.org or https://www.hampton.gov/covid