These states have done the best – and the worst – to vaccinate their residents against COVID-19



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After months of planning, the deployment of warp speed by the US government COVID-19[female[feminine vaccines instead progressed at a snail pace, threatening to extend local lockdowns and increase America’s virus death toll.

Yet, a month after the start of the effort – the largest vaccination campaign in US history – some states are moving quickly to vaccinate their populations, according to government data reviewed by CBS MoneyWatch. Other parts of the country are lagging far behind.

West Virginia has distributed nearly 90% of its supply of the first vaccine vaccine and is expected to have nursing residents inoculated with two doses by the end of January. Firefighters, police and paramedics in the state – one of the poorest in the country – are also almost fully vaccinated.


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Many other states are struggling to get their vaccination efforts off the ground. In total, less than a third of all doses distributed across the country (and in U.S. territories), or 10.3 million out of almost 30 million, were given to people.

CBS MoneyWatch spoke to health experts, government officials and hospital administrators in the United States to find out what works – and doesn’t – in the rush to vaccinate Americans against the deadly disease . Which states are successful in getting doses into the arms of their residents? Which states are still struggling? And why?

Here are some of the lessons so far in America Covid-19 vaccine go out.

States that have fallen behind

Among the country’s most populous states, Georgia, Virginia and California are the furthest behind in distributing the vaccine to residents. According to the most recent CDC data, Georgia administered less than 20% of vaccine doses delivered to the state – the lowest percentage of any state in America.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp last week opened immunizations for residents 65 and older, as well as police and other first responders, to accelerate efforts beyond the initial pool of healthcare workers and residents of nursing homes targeted for vaccines. For now, however, this poses more problems. A state website has scheduled immunizations for 4 a.m., four hours before the Atlanta site offering injections opens. Other vaccine planning websites have collapsed.

Strict adherence to CDC guidelines that health workers get vaccinated first seems to be one of the issues plaguing many states that have fallen behind. For example, officials in Virginia initially said the state would not take the next step with vaccinations until February. Although it has since moved that date, Virginia has still administered less than 25% of its vaccine supply.

California, which has administered only 26% of the vaccines available in the state, has also launched mass vaccination sites – including Disneyland in Anaheim and this week opened vaccine eligibility to residents 65 and older.


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Other lagging states have relied too much on untested distribution networks, experts said. Arkansas, which, according to CDC data, administered only 33% of its vaccine stock, included more than 200 pharmacies in its initial vaccination plans. It was a mistake, said Dr Cam Patterson, Chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, which operates hospitals and treatment centers statewide.

Officials in Arkansas and some other states are disputing CDC data. Dr Jennifer Dillaha, who leads the state’s immunization efforts, said her state had received fewer doses than the health agency said and they had given 41% of the vaccine they received. Wednesday afternoon. Dillaha also said pharmacies had experienced delays, while noting that their inclusion was part of the state’s long-term plan.

“We want our immunization infrastructure to be stronger than after the pandemic,” Dillaha said.

States ahead of the curve

Many public health experts have warned before vaccine deployment that the rural areas of the United States would be at a disadvantage compared to the cities for the distribution of the vaccine. However, less populous states like North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia are among those doing a better job of vaccinating their residents.

West Virginia has distributed nearly 70% of all vaccine doses it has received from the federal government, according to the latest CDC data, ranking first among states ranked by this metric. About 110,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Mountain State, roughly the same amount that has been administered so far in Wisconsin, which has roughly three times the population.

The difference: West Virginia, unlike other states, relied heavily on its National Guard to lead other state agencies in the vaccination effort, as well as transporting doses to where it was needed. necessary. It was also the only state to withdraw from a national vaccination program for nursing homes across the country that was developed by the CDC and is run by pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens, which many say , was progressing slowly.

West Virginia has also vaccinated different populations of at-risk and essential workers at the same time – such as residents over 70, police and firefighters, as well as those who work in major manufacturing industries and are over the age of 50. and more – rather than reserving all of its doses for health workers.

“We took 10,000 square feet of our National Guard headquarters and turned it into a command center with representatives from all levels of state government,” said Major General James Hoyer, who retired from the National Guard earlier this month, but stayed. as a civilian to continue to manage West Virginia’s COVID-19 vaccination effort. “Young soldiers and airmen are distributing the vaccine across the state. We are handling this like a military convoy.”


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South Dakota has taken a different approach. The state has partnered with its three major health networks, dividing the state and allowing medical institutions to manage distributions on their own, according to Dr David Basel, head of the immunization effort for Avera Medical, who is based in Sioux Falls and is one of the state’s three medical groups it’s getting vaccinated.

It seems to have worked. South Dakota has administered nearly 60% of the vaccine allocated to it by the US government. “Our biggest problem has been the weather,” Basel said in a week when the state faced 20-degree temperatures and more than one snowfall. “One of our first expeditions was caused by a snowstorm. A truck ended up in a ditch but we got it out on time and no vaccine was damaged.”

How does each state

The numbers below are based on state and CDC data as of January 13. The percentages represent the number of vaccines administered versus the number of doses received by each state. The US average was 35% on Wednesday. (In some cases, the latest CDC numbers may not include state or local data, which may be off by several days.)

State / territory / federal entity % of vaccine administered
Alabama 22%
Alaska 26%
American Samoa 24%
Arizona 27%
Arkansas 32%
Prison office 98%
California 26%
Colorado 45%
Connecticut 51%
Delaware 31%
Department of Defense 34%
District of Colombia 48%
Federated States of Micronesia 6%
Florida 42%
Georgia 20%
Guam 11%
Hawaii 24%
Idaho 25%
Illinois 40%
Indian health service 26%
Indiana 36%
Iowa 42%
Kansas 33%
Kentucky 43%
Louisiana 42%
Maine 42%
Marshall Islands 5%
Maryland 32%
Massachusetts 33%
Michigan 38%
Minnesota 32%
Mississippi 28%
Missouri 31%
Montana 49%
Nebraska 40%
Nevada 30%
New Hampshire 44%
New Jersey 40%
New Mexico 41%
New York State 35%
North Carolina 31%
North Dakota 61%
Northern Mariana Islands 22%
Ohio 34%
Oklahoma 43%
Oregon 35%
Pennsylvania 37%
Porto Rico 28%
Republic of Palau 12%
Rhode Island 51%
Caroline from the south 31%
South Dakota 57%
Tennessee 44%
Texas 49%
Utah 39%
Vermont 42%
Veterans health 27%
Virgin islands 12%
Virginia 24%
Washington 36%
West Virginia 69%
Wisconsin 31%
Wyoming 31%

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