Rising Covid infections in Hertfordshire are being driven by people in their late teens and early 20s.
Like with much of the rest of England, Hertfordshire as a whole is seeing a rise in cases, particularly more so in eastern areas of the county.
The increase in Covid cases in Hertfordshire is yet to translate into a surge in hospitalisations or deaths, with the last Covid death at Watford General Hospital reported on April 25.
The infection rates are currently lowest in elderly people and highest in young adults in areas like Watford, Three Rivers, and Hertsmere.
Hertfordshire’s director of public health Jim McManus is urging over 18s who have yet to be vaccinated to get the jab – Watford biggest pop-up vaccination centre at Watford football club on Sunday saw more than 1,500 people jabbed.
Latest modelling analysis from Public Health England (PHE) and the University of Cambridge’s MRC Biostatistics Unit suggests the coronavirus vaccination programme has so far prevented an estimated 7.2 million infections and 27,000 deaths in England alone.
PHE head of immunisation Dr Mary Ramsay said: "These findings remind us once again why getting both doses of your vaccine is the most important thing you can do to stop the spread of this terrible disease.
"As well as preventing the deaths of tens of thousands from COVID-19, for the first time we can now appreciate the huge impact that the vaccines have had on stopping people getting infected, and therefore passing the virus on to others."
Locally, cases are rising but they have not risen as quickly in Watford as they have in other parts of Hertfordshire like St Albans and East Hertfordshire.
The town actually has the lowest Covid rate out of any of Hertfordshire’s ten districts with 75 cases recorded in the seven days to June 24; equivalent to a rate of 77.5 cases per 100,000 population.
East Hertfordshire has the highest rate in the county at 144.2 (216 cases).
The highest rate in England is Hyndburn in Lancashire at 547.9 while the lowest is Great Yarmouth in Norfolk at 12.1.
The latest rates do not take into account most recent data, which is incomplete, and the likes of Hertsmere and Dacorum are likely to see its infection rates rise sharply in the coming days.
A map of case locations shows there is nowhere in particular responsible for a rise in cases.
Unlike at the end of May where a rise could be easily connected to Leggatts ward after a primary school outbreak, in Watford, in the seven days to June 23, none of the town’s 12 areas recorded more than ten cases each.
It’s a similar story in Three Rivers with cases dotted across the district, while in Hertsmere, there were 14 cases recorded in Bushey Central, with infections also found in Borehamwood, Radlett, and Potters Bar.
However, this map will change in the coming days as more cases are added and some areas are likely to emerge as new hotspots as cases grow.
As of June 22, there were eight Covid patients being cared for at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, including two on ventilation.
NHS England data shows two of those eight patients are children. The data does not tell us whether the patients in hospital on June 22 were fully or partially vaccinated.
At least 29 Covid patients have been admitted to West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust since May 19, but no deaths have been recorded since April 25, suggesting patients admitted are returning home.
As a whole in Hertfordshire, in the week to June 23, the rolling rate of Covid infections was highest in those aged 20-24 (410.7) followed by 15-19 at 291.3.
The lowest is in the 85-89 age group (0.0) and 65-69 (3.8).
Rates are not higher than 39.7 in any age groups over 55.
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