Analysis ranks WV least safe state during COVID-19 pandemic
The analysis uses five key metrics—vaccination rate, positive testing rate, hospitalization rate, death rate & transmission rate—to rank all 50 US states & DC from most to least safe. WV ranked 51st.
By DOUGLAS J HARDING
West Virginia is the least safe U.S. state for its residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new analysis.
The analysis uses five key metrics—vaccination rate, positive testing rate, hospitalization rate, death rate and transmission rate—to rank all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia from most to least safe. West Virginia ranked 51st.
The analysis explains its methodology: “These metrics are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the safest conditions. We then determined the weighted average across all metrics to calculate an overall score for each state and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.”
West Virginia received a score of 24.96. The next lowest scores are as follows: Florida- 27.05, Georgia- 31.14, Michigan-33.19 and Pennsylvania- 36.79.
In contrast, Vermont received the highest score of 94.07. The next highest scores are as follows: Hawaii- 88.74, California- 86.49, New Hampshire- 83.00 and Rhode Island- 81.01.
According to the analysis, West Virginia has the highest transmission rate of any state in the country. Transmission rates estimate the average number of people to whom an infected individual will pass on the virus.
West Virginia ranks 50th in positive testing rates. Only South Dakota has a higher positive testing rate than the Mountain State.
According to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, West Virginia has a cumulative percent positivity of just over 5%.
In hospitalization rates, West Virginia is ranked 48th, with only Florida, Michigan and Kentucky seeing higher rates.
As of Wednesday, 209 individuals in West Virginia were confirmed to be hospitalized for COVID-19, with 81 individuals in an intensive care unit (ICU) and 29 individuals on ventilators.
The recent analysis places West Virginia in the category of “High COVID-19 Death Rate and Low Vaccination Rate” states.
In vaccination rates, West Virginia ranks 43rd. The state’s current vaccination rate is just above 40%, with about 50% of the population having received at least one dose.
In Vermont, close to 55% of the total population is fully vaccinated, or about 78% of its eligible population. In Hawaii, about 50% of the total population is fully vaccinated and 57% have received at least one dose.
In death rates, West Virginia ranks 35th.
DHHR indicates the state has seen more than 161,000 total cases of the virus, and about 5,100 of those are active cases. 269 cases and 4 deaths had been reported in the past 24 hours. As of Wednesday, 2,792 total deaths had been reported.
Another recent analysis indicates that West Virginia has the most COVID-19-vulnerable population in the country. That analysis ranked the state’s population as the most “medically vulnerable” of all 50 states + DC, 8th in “financial vulnerability” and 23rd in “housing vulnerability.”
A third analysis indicates West Virginia has nearly the best health infrastructure throughout the pandemic, second only to North Dakota, in part due to the Mountain State’s having the third highest number of hospital beds per capita of all the states + DC.
The West Virginia Holler is an affiliate of The Tennessee Holler and is powered, in part, by West Virginia Can’t Wait.
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