The Vermont Department of Health released a Covid-19 dashboard on Tuesday that reveals new data on the demographic breakdown of Covid-19 cases in Vermont.
According to the dashboard, the top age group for Covid-19 cases were in the 50- to 59-year-old age range as of early April 7. About 40% of patients who tested positive for Covid-19 were 60 or older.
Vermont had a total of 575 confirmed as of Tuesday afternoon, an increase of 32 from Monday. There were no new deaths reported Tuesday.
The data reveals a reversal of preliminary reports on the age of Covid-19 cases: A release from the Department of Health about the first 36 Covid-19 cases reported that two-thirds of patients were above the age of 65.
The discrepancy could be the result of the smaller sample size in the earlier data, said Easton White, a researcher at the University of Vermont. The current data is based on 575 Covid-19 cases, more than 15 times the sample size of the preliminary report.
But it could be a sign that Covid-19 is getting detected among less severe cases as well. The earlier report also came mostly from people who were hospitalized for Covid-19 or living in long-term care facilities.
“In addition, many of the initial cases started at nursing homes, probably inflating the percent of older patients,” White said. The state does not report how many Covid-19 cases come from elder care facilities in its current dashboard.
There have been outbreaks at Burlington Health and Rehab, Pinecrest at Essex and Birchwood Terrace Rehabilitation and Healthcare.
The state also expanded its testing rules on March 27, allowing for people with milder symptoms to get tested. White said it was likely that older patients were prioritized at first because of their potential complications.
The data by gender showed that women were a higher percentage of Covid-19 cases than men, despite previous research showing that men were more at risk of Covid-19 complications.
As of April 7, 29 people were hospitalized due to Covid-19 and another 51 were hospitalized under investigation of Covid-19.
The Department of Health reported 23 deaths from Covid-19, the same as the previous day.
The new dashboard also revealed deaths by county for the first time.
Chittenden County led the state with 15 deaths from the virus and 308 confirmed cases. No cases have been reported in Essex County.
