RCAHD Announces Increase In Hepatitis A and COVID Feb 1, 2022

Cumulative Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts: 56,956 (up 2258)

Approximately 16% of new cases are in children
Approximately 42% of new cases are in persons younger than 35 years of age
The vast majority of new cases and hospitalizations continue to occur in individuals who are not fully vaccinated.

For the week ending in 1/22/2022, which is representative of current vaccination rates and transmission of Omicron, people in Virginia who were not vaccinated developed COVID-19 at 35 times the rate, and were hospitalized at over 20 times the rate compared to people who were fully vaccinated.

People hospitalized with COVID-19, as of Monday 1/31/2022: 135 81 Alleghany Health District, 54 Roanoke City Health District
91 new hospitalizations

COVID-19 related deaths, as of Tuesday 2/1/2022: 775
• 491 Alleghany Health District, 284 Roanoke City Health District

Dr. Morrow states, “With respect to our ongoing hepatitis A outbreak, we have seen a steady increase in the number of cases of hepatitis A over the last several weeks, with 20 cases reported just in the Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts in the last few months. (This is compared to a yearly average of only 2-5 cases in our districts.) Over 70% of the individuals have required hospitalization. The vast majority of cases are associated with persons who use injection drugs. We are working closely with our community partners to provide health education as well as vaccination opportunities to address this outbreak.”