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The tenth paragraph of the article: “Overall, experts say it’s too early in the vaccine rollout to draw conclusions about the region’s shortcomings, and they can’t easily be attributed to a particular factor or trend.”
https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
The article focuses on Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
And in terms of percentage of vaccines used, Alabama ranks last of the 50 states and Georgia ranks 48th.
And in terms of percentage of vaccines used, Alabama ranks last of the 50 states and Georgia ranks 48th.
But Mississippi ranks 30th and South Carolina ranks 29th — slightly below the middle of the pack. Nothing to brag about, but not notably bad, or warranting national scorn. https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
The data doesn’t match the article’s simplistic “the Deep South is doing the worst” narrative. The country’s most populated state and the one we’re constantly reminded would be the world’s fifth-biggest economy all by itself, California, ranks 49th. https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
As I noted yesterday, my home state of Virginia is fourth from the bottom, and on the current pace, will have every adult in the state vaccinated by the summer of 2023.
https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
But let’s say that for some reason, you don’t like the measuring stick of “what percentage of allocated doses have been administered so far.” https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
Let’s say you prefer measuring vaccinations per 100,000 residents, as the CDC does. https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
Yes, Alabama ranks dead last, at 1,882 vaccinations per 100,000 residents, the only one below 2,000. But Georgia, Mississippi, and SC are in the 2,000 to 3,000 range, along with eleven other states — including California,Washington, Wisconsin, and NJ. https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
Sorry, haters of particular regions, but there’s no particular geographic, political, economic, or cultural factor across the states near the top or bottom of the national rankings. https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
Most states are in the range of 2 percent to 4 percent of residents vaccinated. Alabama is at 1.8 percent, Georgia is at 2.1 percent, Mississippi is at 2.4 percent, and South Carolina is at 2.2 percent. https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
All pandemic long, we’ve seen particular corners of the media try to shoehorn the data about state responses and caseloads into a simple, political Goofus-and-Gallant story of good and wise blue-state governors vs foolish and reckless red-state governors.
https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
You know which state is kicking ass at getting shots into arms? West Virginia. They’ve already used 78.6 percent of their allocated shots. Only the Dakotas come close.
https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
This is the right time to put aside whatever preconceived notions or grudges or gripes you have with the state of West Virginia…
https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
… and ask, “what can my state learn from what West Virginia’s doing, to get people vaccinated faster?”
https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
https://bit.ly/3sqsPIh
