Though Covid-19 transmission rates, hospitalizations and deaths are trending downward in the U.S., there are some states that may be safer to live in than others because of factors like how well they have kept the pandemic under control.
A new report by WalletHub, published Thursday, ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia using five metrics to determine the safest states during Covid-19: vaccination rates, positive Covid-19 results, Covid-related hospitalizations and deaths and the level of community transmission.
Having a low death rate was triple the weight of other metrics, and at 37.5 points was the most significant factor considered for the report.
A high vaccination rate was the second highest metric with 25 points. And rates of positive testing, hospitalization and level of community transmission weighed the same at 12.5 points.
No. 1 safest state during Covid-19: Vermont
Vermont landed the top spot with a score of 75.95, largely due to having the lowest hospitalization rate and the lowest positive testing rate of all states.
The Green Mountain State also has a low Covid-related death rate and a high vaccination rate among its residents.
"The volume of people going to emergency departments due to COVID-like symptoms has been decreasing since early May," according to the Vermont Department of Health's site, "There is nothing of immediate concern in Vermont's wastewater data, which tends to show weekly variation but overall remains significantly lower than the Spring of 2022."
Though Vermont has one of the highest levels of community transmission in comparison to other states, according to the report, it still was deemed the safest.
States in the northeast reigned supreme with five in the top six. But a few west coast states landed high on the list as well.
10 safest states during Covid-19
- Vermont
- North Carolina
- Rhode Island
- New Hampshire
- Connecticut
- Maine
- Hawaii
- Colorado
- District of Columbia
- Nevada
North Carolina came in at No. 2, with a very close score of 75.32.
Having the highest vaccination rate in the country strongly encouraged the state's score. Some 67% of its total population have at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, and 60% of North Carolina residents ages five and up have at least one booster shot, as indicated by the state's Department of Health and Human Services.
In third place, Rhode Island wasn't far off, scoring a 74.07. A high vaccination rate coupled with landing in the top 10 for lowest death rates upped the state's score, and it also has one of the lowest positive Covid-19 testing rates.
The Ocean State has seen a major decrease in cases since June of this year, according to the Rhode Island Department of Health's data tracker.
Ranking at the very bottom of WalletHub's list as the least safest states during the pandemic are: Louisiana, West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Kentucky.
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