MAP MONDAY: Georgia Is 2020’s 2nd Least Vaccinated State

With the ongoing discussion over a forthcoming COVID-19 vaccine and the willingness of Americans to receive one of the first round injections, vaccinations generally are once again at the forefront of the national conversation. Are they dangerous? Should you have one? What are the trade-offs? What are the risks of contracting what you are trying to prevent? What about compromised immune systems? There are many questions to ask and when cost and accessibility are just a couple of the components that contribute to the decision making process, which is why financial website WalletHub decided to take a deep dive into all of the factors.

WalletHub examined the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 18 key categories, including share of vaccinated children to share of people without health insurance to presence of reported measles outbreaks based on information from the Census Bureau, CDC, The Journal of Primary Prevention, and other sources. (Full methodology available here)

So, what were the findings? We take a look in this week’s Map Monday!

You can scroll over each state to see the ranking (Story continues below)

The Most Vaccinated States for 2020 are:

1. Massachussetts
2. Vermont
3. New Hampshire
4. North Dakota
5. Rhode Island

At the bottom of the ranking for Least Vaccinated States with a low score of 16.36 was Mississippi. Georgia had more than double Mississippi’s score, but still came in second-to-last with 33.90. New Jersey, Texas, and Wyoming followed behind Georgia, respectively.

With regard to Georgia, WalletHub found the following:

Vaccination in Georgia (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

•    44th – Influenza Vaccination Rate in Children Aged 6 Months to 17 Years Old
•    37th – Share of Teenagers Aged 13-17 with Up-To-Date HPV Vaccination
•    47th – Flu Vaccination Coverage Rate Among Adults
•    38th – Share of Adults with Tetanus Vaccination
•    37th – Share of Adults Aged 60 and Older with Zoster Vaccination
•    24th – Share of Children 19-35 Months old Living in Poverty with Combined 7-Vaccine Series
•    48th – Share of Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population without Health Insurance Coverage

You can read the full report with more rankings here.