COVID Vaccine by State – How Is Yours Doing?
January 22, 2021
Finding out how to get the COVID vaccine can be frustrating. Citizens need to know how their state is rolling out the vaccine, who is eligible, and how to get it. Part of the confusion rests with each state having its own set of rules regarding eligibility and methods for vaccinating their citizens. Here we try to make it easier for you to learn more.
Why is the COVID vaccine so important?
As COVID-19 infections continue to spread, especially with the advent of a more contagious variant, more people are at risk of serious illness. Any infection, including COVID-19, can trigger sepsis. In this case, it is viral sepsis.
Infection prevention measures, such as frequent hand washing, social distancing, and wearing masks, help prevent the spread of the virus. However, the virus still circulates as not everyone observes the prevention measures.
A COVID vaccine doesn’t stop you from getting the virus, but it stops you from becoming seriously ill from complications like pneumonia. However, if you receive the vaccine, this does not mean that you can stop with the infection prevention measures. Although you may not become ill with the infection, it’s believed you can still spread it to others, including those who are not vaccinated yet.
State vaccination rates.
As of today, West Virginia has administered the highest percentage of vaccines than any other state. According to Becker’s Hospital Review, West Virginia received 231,800 vaccine doses, which they gave to 167,546 citizens – 72.28%. Alabama has given the least. They received 493,125 vaccine doses and only administered 165,919 – 33.65%. You can check out the Becker site to see how your state is doing.
Becker updates the numbers regularly, so the percentages by state will change over time.
The New York Times has a map, updated on January 21, showing vaccination rates across the country.
But how do you get your COVID vaccine?
Some media and government sources are trying to get vaccine information to the public. For example, CNN has published a list of contact information by state.
The Vaccine Finder website, a partnership between Boston Children’s Hospital, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Harvard Medical School, and HealthMap is one resource the public can use to find locations that provide vaccines. So far, the COVID vaccine has not been added to the list, but the site says it will update to include this vaccine as soon as more details are known.
Unrelated to COVID-19, the Vaccine Finder website is also a good source for finding where you can get other vaccines, for children and adults.
To learn more about COVID-19, visit Sepsis and Coronavirus (COVID-19), part of the Sepsis and… library.
