Only Alabama state with less than 40% of eligible population vaccinated

Alabama is the only state in the country with less than 40% of eligible residents vaccinated against COVID-19.

Data from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that only 39.6% of people aged 12 and older in Alabama are fully vaccinated. Children under 12 are not currently eligible for any of the vaccines.

RELATED: COVID vaccine for children under 12 to arrive in fall, says Biden

Mississippi is second from the bottom, with 40.1% of eligible people fully vaccinated – meaning they received both injections of a two-dose series – Pfizer or Moderna – or one of the Johnson injections & Johnson.

Alabama led Mississippi in overall immunization rates for months, before being adopted earlier this month.

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Vaccination rates are lagging in many southern states and part of the Western Highlands region, even as a new wave fueled by the more contagious Delta variant is pushing cases up across the country. country.

Vaccinations have slowed considerably in Alabama, hovering above 5,000 doses administered per day throughout July after peaking above 34,000 doses per day in April.

[Can’t see the chart? Click here.]

Meanwhile, the state’s 7-day average for new virus cases continues to rise, along with virus hospitalizations. Alabama had an average of 1,133 new cases per day on Thursday, and hospitalizations topped 600 on Wednesday.

Do you have an idea for an Alabama data story? Email Ramsey Archibald at [email protected], and follow him on Twitter @RamseyArchibald. Read more stories about Alabama data here.