How many kids and teens have gotten COVID in the Triangle? See your county’s data
For most age groups under 18 around the Triangle, recent weeks have seen a slight decrease in new COVID-19 case among young people.
Despite those dips, the state is still seeing weekly caseloads of COVID-19 in the thousands for children and teenagers around North Carolina, according to data from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
In September, the state’s case rates were highest for children 17 and younger, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, DHHS Secretary, at a press conference two weeks ago.
“Children made up almost a third of the state’s new COVID cases,” she said Sept. 21. “That’s a trend we’ve seen for the past three weeks.”
Last week, at least 26 Triangle schools were experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks, The News & Observer reported.
Meanwhile, just over 39% of teen ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated. No COVID-19 vaccines have been approved yet for children younger than 12 years old, but U.S. authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for those aged 5-11 could soon be on the way.
Other precautions against the virus have become controversial for children around the state, with a new state law passed last month requiring school boards to vote monthly on their mask requirements.
That law has seen local school board meetings turn into heated battlegrounds, as those opposed to mask mandates rally fellow critics to attend each month.
Since the pandemic began, roughly 15% of North Carolina’s total COVID-19 cases have occurred in children as of Sept. 23, according to a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics. That was slightly below the country’s overall rate of 16% across the U.S. as a whole.
But when accounting for population, North Carolina ranked higher than average for its number of cases in children — with 8,956.3 cases per 100,000 children, compared to an overall rate of 7,607 cases.
With the delta variant continuing to spread and children and teenagers continuing to be at-risk for getting COVID-19, here’s a look at the data from North Carolina and Triangle counties from Aug. 29 to Sept. 25.
How many children are getting sick? Of those who can get the vaccine, how many have received it?
North Carolina
Across the state, 44.2% of people aged 12-17 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 39.3% are fully vaccinated.
No. of new cases among 0-1: 2,991 (1.8% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 2-4: 4,248 (2.6% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 5-9: 12,940 (8.0% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 10-14: 17,771 (11.0% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 15-17: 10,371 (6.4% of overall new cases)
Wake County
In Wake County, 67.5% of people aged 12-17 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 63.2% are fully vaccinated.
No. of new cases among 0-1: 342 (3.0% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 2-4: 471 (4.1% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 5-9: 1,093 (9.6% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 10-14: 1,090 (9.5% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 15-17: 650 (5.7% of overall new cases)
Durham County
In Durham County, 61.7% of people aged 12-17 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 56.8% are fully vaccinated.
No. of new cases among 0-1: 79 (3.0% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 2-4: 89 (3.3% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 5-9: 211 (7.9% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 10-14: 206 (7.7% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 15-17: 129 (4.8% of overall new cases)
Orange County
In Orange County, 74.4% of people aged 12-17 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 70.7% are fully vaccinated.
No. of new cases among 0-1: 19 (1.8% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 2-4: 24 (2.3% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 5-9: 115 (10.8% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 10-14: 68 (6.4% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 15-17: 28 (2.6% of overall new cases)
Johnston County
In Johnston County, 40.2% of people aged 12-17 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 34.6% are fully vaccinated.
No. of new cases among 0-1: 74 (2.3% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 2-4: 68 (2.1% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 5-9: 242 (7.5% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 10-14: 333 (10.3% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 15-17: 161 (5.0% of overall new cases)
Chatham County
In Chatham County, 39.5% of people aged 12-17 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 35.3% are fully vaccinated.
No. of new cases among 0-1: 7 (1.2% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 2-4: 9 (1.6% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 5-9: 33 (5.8% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 10-14: 59 (10.3% of overall new cases)
No. of new cases among 15-17: 38 (6.6% of overall new cases)