United States Counties And Covid-19 Vaccination Rates

The coronavirus and its variants have changed the world forever.  From lockdown to masking, social distancing, sanitizing, these are the new norms followed by our society that we will never forget.  Restrictions imposed on travel and social gathering, virtual classrooms, work from home, and being confined in homes have affected both adults’ and children’s mental status and well-being. 

United States Counties And Covid-19 Vaccination Rates

The closure of many businesses has left many people jobless and forced more and more people into poverty.  We understood the importance of frontline healthcare works and their untiring efforts to treat and control the disease.

The decline of the active cases in many countries, the intensity of omicron getting weaker, rising immunity of the people against the virus and the high vaccination rates in many countries have enabled many nations to lift off many or all restrictions, including mask mandates, carrying vaccine status certificate or vaccine passports.  Many countries have opened up to the point where restaurants, pubs, nightclubs, etc., remain fully functional.

Vaccinations however have been proved to be the most powerful tool in controlling the spread of the virus.  Vaccinations have even been proven effective against omicron, the most dominant strain of coronavirus.  Omicron alone contributes to the majority of the cases now worldwide. 

Vaccinations prevent people from ending up in hospitalizations, it also prevents the severe complications of the disease, including death.  It also helps in reducing the transmission of the disease.  No one can deny the role of vaccines in bringing our lives to an almost normal state like before.

With the implementation of the vaccination program a few months ago, though many were getting vaccinated, the outbreak of the summer season and the emergence of the new variants led to a deceleration in the country’s vaccination program.

The US remains one of the countries to have the highest vaccination rates throughout the world.  About 65% of the population is fully vaccinated, and 43% of the fully vaccinated population have had their first booster doses.

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, some counties in the US have performed exceptionally well compared to other counties when it comes to vaccination rates.  Apache County, Santa Cruz County, Presidio County in Texas have the highest vaccination rates with boosted percentages being 46%, 35%, and 37%, respectively. Other counties in Texas with one of the highest vaccination rates include Maverick County and Webb County. 

Teton County, Wyoming, has 91% of its population fully vaccinated with 45% of vaccinated people who have been boosted.  Imperial County in California is also amongst one of the US counties with a high number of vaccinated individuals.

Though the above figures are very much encouraging from the infectious disease standpoint, many coronavirus patients are still filling the hospital beds, and death rates are still high.  Winston County in Alabama and Marion County in the state of Florida have very low vaccination rates, with the fully vaccinated rate of Winston County at as low as 26%.

Though there are widely available vaccines in the US with free vaccination in some parts, many are still reluctant to take the vaccines due to religious or racial concerns and lack of insurance.  For some poorer people, vaccines are not readily accessible, too, due to lack of transportation or healthcare access.

Though the CDC and other national public health agencies emphasize the importance of booster doses, especially in the immunocompromised and elderly individuals, many are still reluctant to take the booster doses. 

With kids as low as 5 years getting eligible for vaccines, with the coronavirus and omicron still not being eradicated and with lifting off of restrictions, people should get vaccinated and boosted and follow other precautionary measures as recommended by the government, to protect themselves and their loved ones.