With only 7.9 percent of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of March 2, and vaccination being an essential component for full reopening of the economy, WalletHub recently released its report on the Safest States During COVID-19.
In order to find out the safest states during the COVID-19 pandemic, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across five key metrics. The data set includes the rates of COVID-19 transmission, positive testing, hospitalizations and death, as well as the share of the eligible population getting vaccinated.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/safest-states-during-covid/86567
California’s Safety During Coronavirus (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
• 21st – Vaccination Rate
• 6th – Positive Testing Rate
• 33rd – Hospitalization Rate
• 49th – Death Rate
• 16th – Transmission Rate
Note: Rankings are based on data available as of 12:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.
WalletHub Q&A with WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez
Q: How much of an impact do you expect the addition of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to have on safety and reopening?
A; The Johnson & Johnson vaccine should help give a big boost to our overall safety, because in addition to increasing the vaccine supply in general, it only requires one dose. People who get this vaccine will get all of their protection in a single shot rather than having only partial effectiveness for a few weeks before they can get a booster. The sooner people can get completely vaccinated, the safer our communities will be and the sooner they can fully reopen. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine should speed up that process.”
Why is a state’s level of safety so important for its economy?
The level of safety in a state is crucial to its economy because it determines the way businesses are allowed to operate. States will not remove their current COVID-19 restrictions until certain safety benchmarks are met, such as the reduction of the transmission rate to specific levels. Until it is safe enough to remove these restrictions, business will continue to be stunted across the U.S. The best way to help state economies is to get most people in each state vaccinated, which in turn will create a much safer environment and allow businesses to operate at normal capacity and hire in full force.
What actions can residents take in order to increase the safety of their community and their state?
The most important thing that residents can do to increase the safety of their community and state is to get vaccinated when they are eligible. While the vaccines being offered have a high efficacy, how well they are able to curb the pandemic also depends on the share of the population that chooses to get vaccinated. Until we achieve widespread vaccination and get the pandemic under control, people should continue to wear masks in public and practice social distancing to achieve the highest level of safety possible.
Is there a correlation between a state’s vaccination rate and its death rate?
At the moment, we have found a weak positive correlation between the vaccination rate ranking and the death rate ranking. In other words, as the vaccination rate increases, the death rate decreases. It’s important to consider the fact that vaccination has been slow so far, and only small portions of the population are eligible. In the future, we should expect a stronger correlation between the two variables as the vaccination rate increases.
