Oklahoma is ranked 48th in the nation for all-around vaccination records and second to last in vaccinations of children, according to a recent study.
The personal finance company WalletHub examined 50 states and the District of Columbia across 16 key metrics with data including rates of children, teens and adults vaccinated against various diseases and share of people without health insurance.
According to WalletHub, the data used to create this ranking were collected Aug. 12 from government agencies like the U.S. Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Resources and Services Administration, and nonprofits like Kaiser Family Foundation.
The five states with the poorest all-around vaccination rates are Mississippi, Alaska, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Texas. The study also found that Texas, Oklahoma and Mississippi are among the states with the highest share of people without health insurance coverage.
The study comes as millions without health insurance could pay over $200 for COVID-19 vaccines after the recent elimination of the federal Bridge Access program. The program, which provided free COVID-19 vaccines to adults without health insurance, ended last month due to a lack of federal funding.
“The states that vaccinate the most provide the safest environments when it comes to public health, as the likelihood that the next outbreak will begin or spread there is minimized,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in a news release.
According to the World Health Organization, vaccines save millions of lives each year and are most effective when a large portion of the population gets them. The organization also reports vaccines are also very safe in that “so few deaths can plausibly be attributed to vaccines that it is hard to assess the risk statistically.”
How did Oklahoma rank?
Oklahoma received a cumulative score of 34.30 from WalletHub across the 16 key areas they studied. The state only ranked higher than Kentucky (32.59), Alaska (31.92) and Mississippi (24.51).
Here’s how some of the indicators ranked Oklahoma:
50th for children and teenagers’ immunization rates.
31st for adult and elderly vaccination rates.
49th for immunization uptake disparities and influencing factors.
48th for influenza vaccination rate in children age 6 months to 17 years.
50th for share of teenagers age 13-17 with up-to-date HPV vaccination.
Source: WalletHub
10 best states for vaccination record
Rhode Island
Massachusetts
Maine
Washington
Maryland
Vermont
Minnesota
New Hampshire
District of Columbia, Washington D.C.
Connecticut
10 worst states for vaccination record
Mississippi
Alaska
Kentucky
Oklahoma
Texas
Florida
Wyoming
Nevada
New Jersey
Arizona
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma one of least vaccinated states, especially among children: Study
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Publish date : 2024-09-17 00:03:00
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