Rural counties saw 2.4 times more COVID-19 infections per capita compared to urban counties in July and August of 2021 during a surge of the delta variant, a new study finds. Early data suggest omicron is spreading faster in urban areas but causing more hospitalization and death in rural counties where vaccination is lagging.

A new study led by the University of Cincinnati found that rural counties had 2.4 times more infections per 100,000 people than urban areas between July 1 and Aug. 31, 2021, when the delta variant surged across the United States.

About 82% of rural America has a vaccination rate lower than 30%, according to data collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Conversely, rural counties accounted for just 131 of the 376 areas with vaccination rates of 50% or more.

Unlike some countries, the United States has a lot of variation in vaccination rates from state to state and county to county. So understanding where vaccinations are lagging could help government and health agencies address vaccine hesitancy and shortfalls in health care, UC epidemiologist and lead author Diego Cuadros said.

He is director of UC’s Health Geography and Disease Modeling Lab.

Areas with low vaccination rates experienced a more intense surge of new cases during the third wave of the pandemic in the United States, driven primarily by the delta variant, according to COVID-19 infection data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Cincinnati. Original written by Michael Miller. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.