WASHINGTON â Coronavirus vaccine coverage is substantially higher in urban areas across the country than in rural communities, where hesitancy remains a âmajor barrierâ for public health officials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in a new study published Tuesday.
The CDC examined county-level vaccination data across all 50 states from December through early April, finding that 38.9% of residents in rural counties had received at least one vaccine dose, compared with 45.7% in urban counties.
Rural residents were also more likely to have traveled outside of their county to get a vaccine dose.
âThis was true for counties across the country, across all age groups, and among men and women,â CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters.
. WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service) Coronavirus vaccine coverage is substantially higher in urban areas across the country than in rural communities, where hesitancy remains a “major barrier” for public health officials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in a new study published Tuesday. The CDC examined county-level vaccination data across all 50 states from December through early April, finding that 38.9% of residents in rural counties had received at least one vaccine dose, compared with 45.7% in urban counties. Rural residents were also more likely to have traveled outside of their county to get a vaccine dose. “This was true for counties across the country, across all age groups, and among men and women,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters.
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How quickly things change. COVID-19 vaccines have proved effective beyond my wildest hopes. But for some commentators, it’s not enough to stop them from fretting about whether or not we’ll reach herd immunity.
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The Kaiser Family Foundation’s April vaccine monitor data shows that vaccine uptake is hitting a plateau. The biggest concern may be among young people.
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The KFF monitor shows that a quarter of those aged 18 to 29 are waiting to see how the vaccine works in the greater population before they seek out it out for themselves. Meanwhile, the vast majority of parents of children aged 12 to 15 are either adopting a wait-and-see approach, only willing to vaccinate if schools require, or not willing to vaccinate their child at all against COVID-19. Only 30% said they would definitely vaccinate their children once the vaccine was available to them.