Vaccine rates low among some high-risk populations in North Carolina
Data analysis shows there is high vaccine hesitancy among some North Carolinians who are most at-risk for having severe or fatal reactions to the virus.
Posted — UpdatedOver the course of the last 14 months, 58 people in the county have died from COVID-19. That number alone isn't notable and is in the bottom half of the state for deaths per county, but when you take into consideration that about 1,800 people in Northampton County have had COVID-19, it causes concern.
That's a 3.1% mortality rate in the county for a virus that has an average mortality rate of less than 1%.
Still, data analysis shows there is high vaccine hesitancy among some North Carolinians who are most at-risk for having severe or fatal reactions to the virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports people who are over 65 and members of groups impacted by long-standing systemic health and social inequities are more likely to become severely ill from COVID-19.
Additionally, the CDC points out a number of health conditions, what have been referred to as "co-morbidities," including heart disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes, that correlate with hospitalization, intensive care, needing a ventilator or even death from the coronavirus.
In Wayne County, which has the highest obesity rate in the state, fewer than one out of every four people are at least partially vaccinated.
Dare County has the highest vaccination rate. Thus far, 49.4% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. Dare County, which includes the Outer Banks and North Carolina's barrier islands, has the second lowest COVID-19 mortality rate. It also has a poverty rate of 8.9% which is notably below the state's 13.6% rate.
The counties with the lowest vaccination rates per population include Onslow (15.1%), Hoke (15.2%) and Cumberland (18.4%) – all of which host military bases. Vaccination data for the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs are not factored into the state's, so these rates could be higher. Robeson and Harnett counties, with 19.9% and 20.4% vaccination rate respectively, round out the bottom five counties.
Robeson County not only has the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases per capita. It also has the highest poverty rate in the state, at 31.5%.
In the five months since the vaccine has been available, disparities have been noticed across wealth lines.
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