Research Alert: September 30, 2021

COVID-19 Cases and Vaccination Rates

Vaccinations are known to be an important tool in the fight against COVID-19. But vaccination uptake has been very uneven across the U.S.; and, the summer 2021 surge in new COVID-19 cases has also been uneven across the country. Data on confirmed COVID-19 cases for the week of August 29, 2021 – September 4, 2021 is compared to vaccination data as of August 15, 2021 (two weeks prior to the start of the case data period) were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Overall, the COVID-19 vaccination rate (percent of the population 12 years and older that received at least one vaccination dose) was lower in nonmetropolitan counties than in metropolitan counties. The rate of new confirmed cases was lower where the vaccination rate was higher than the national county median, regardless of metropolitan/nonmetropolitan status. There was substantial variation in case and vaccination rates across Census regions. Median county case rates overall and by metropolitan/nonmetropolitan status are lowest in the northeast states and highest in south states. Median county vaccination rates overall and by metropolitan/nonmetropolitan status are highest in the northeast states and lowest in south states.

Additional Resources of Interest:

• Confirmed COVID-19 Cases, Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Counties
• County-Level 14-Day COVID-19 Case Trajectories
• COVID-19 Cases and Deaths, Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Counties Over Time (Update)
• Metropolitan/Nonmetropolitan COVID-19 Confirmed Cases and General and ICU Beds
• Pharmacy Vaccination Service Availability in Nonmetropolitan Counties
• More information about the Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
• More information about the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
• More information from the Rural Health Information Hub's topic guide: COVID-19