1- Which states have the highest and lowest vaccination rates?
2- How many Covid related deaths per 100,000 are in each state?
3- In the 10 states we look at are there more underlying health problems and poverty in the states with the highest number of deaths per 100,000 than in the states with the lowest number of deaths per 100,000?
4- Have the level of cases and deaths decreased or increased since 65% of the population in the highly vaccinated states were vaccinated?
Note: I say “Covid related deaths” because most often when a person dies with a positive PCR or other Covid test, he or she is labeled as a Covid death. Recently, the mother of one of my husband’s students died of Cancer, yet was labeled a Covid death… despite having been in hospice for several weeks dying of Cancer. Even the CDC calls Covid deaths “Deaths that involve Covid 19”.
Here are the different ways Covid cases and deaths are defined:
The problem with the PCR test is that it is too sensitive. This NY Times article, Your Covid test is positive. Maybe it shouldn’t be explains the problems with the PCR test:
Let’s turn now to analyzing the 10 states- 5 with the highest vaccination rates and 5 with the lowest.
(Data retrieved on January 3, 2022)
The Five highest vaccinated states
Here is when each of the 5 highest vaccinated state reached a 65% and a 70% fully vaccination rate:
https://usafacts.org/visualizations/covid-vaccine-tracker-states/
The 5 lowest vaccinated states
(Note that Idaho, the least vaccinated state in the country is labeled as 51. The vaccination rate of Washington DC is included among the states.)
As a starting point, let’s look at the number of deaths per 100,000 people in each state. What causes the differences in deaths per 100,000 people in each state? Is it the poverty level... or how well each state followed Covid mandates like wearing masks and closing down small businesses and schools… or the vaccines?
In the chart you will see the vaccination rate of our 10 states, the # of deaths per 100,000 and if the state currently has a mask mandate.
(Data retrieved on January, 3 2022)
I characterized each state’s mask mandates the best I could. Find information about each state’s mask mandates here:
https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2020/states-mask-mandates-coronavirus.html
Looking at the chart, notice how the lowest vaccinated state, Idaho, has fewer deaths per 100,000 than three of the five highly vaccinated states (Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts). Listening to the mainstream media you wouldn’t think that it is possible for a state which has a low vaccination rate and no mask mandate to have a lower death rate per 100,000 than a highly vaccinated state with mask mandates.
Now, let’s rank the states by the number of deaths per 100,000 to see how the highest and lowest vaccinated states compare.
Comparing the vaccine rate and the # of deaths per 100,000
From lowest # of deaths per 100,000 to highest # of deaths per 100,000
(Data retrieved on December 28, 2021)
Two of the five highest vaccinated states have the lowest number of Covid deaths per 100,000 (Vermont, and Maine) while three of the five lowest vaccinated states (Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi) have the highest number of Covid related deaths per 100,000.
As you will soon see, there is a strong relationship between the number of deaths per 100,000 in a state and the underlying health of that state’s population. Alleviating poverty and promoting good health would likely do more to decrease the number of Covid related deaths than current vaccine mandates.
To find the vaccination rate
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/public-health/states-ranked-by-percentage-of-population-vaccinated-march-15.html
To find the deaths per 100,000
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us
The health of the states
Let’s compare the health of the populations in the three states with the lowest number of Covid related deaths per 100,000: Vermont, Maine and Idaho to the health of the populations in the three states with the highest number of Covid related deaths per 100,000: Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.
States are ranked by various agencies to show how healthy their people are. #1 is the healthiest state while #50 is the unhealthiest state. The ranking of each state’s health is measured by things like its rates of obesity, heart disease, COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and diabetes. These are among the many health problems which are almost always present in a Covid related death.
To find out what COPD is, click here:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/copd/symptoms-causes/syc-20353679
Poverty correlates to Covid Related deaths
Having good health is related to having money and having access to good food, clean air and clean water and having hope (among other things).
It’s not a surprise that the states with the highest number of Covid related deaths have among the highest rates of poverty in the nation.
https://www.fcnl.org/updates/2021-11/top-10-poorest-states-us
Each state’s health ranking
Here is how the 3 states with the lowest Covid deaths per 100,000 and the 3 states with the highest number of Covid deaths per 100,000 rank among the 50 states in the US in terms of health:
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Overall_a/state/AL?edition-year=2021
We can see that Vermont is the 3rd healthiest state in the US while Louisiana, at 50, ranks as the least healthy state in the US.
It comes as no surprise that the three states with the highest rates of Covid related deaths are among the unhealthiest in the US. Louisiana, 50th is followed by Mississippi, 49th. Alabama ranks in at 45th.
It also comes as no surprise that the two states with the lowest deaths per 100,000 in the US are are among the healthiest states in the US: 3rd (Vermont) and 8th (Maine). Idaho is the 17th healthiest state in the US.
Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana have very high rates of the underlying health problems associated with Covid 19 deaths. People who die from/with Covid almost always have serious underlying diseases and are obese (comorbidities). It is very rare for a healthy person with no underlying health problems to die from Covid. But the media doesn’t talk about the Covid death profile. They make it sound like people of all ages are equally at risk of dying a Covid related death.
Covid and its Comorbidities
From the CDC website- Here is a simple image showing the common comorbidities people have who enter the hospital with a Covid infection.
https://www.cdc.gov/library/covid19/images/05-08_figure7.png
Here is the same information in a table...(approximate #):
Diabetes, heart disease and COPD are just some of the comorbidities people who end up hospitalized with Covid have. Another is obesity. According to the CDC, 78% of people in the hospital with Covid are obese or overweight.
The dark red states have a 35% obesity rate. Three of the states in our group of ten are dark red: Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/prevalence-maps.html#overall
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/08/covid-cdc-study-finds-roughly-78percent-of-people-hospitalized-were-overweight-or-obese.html
The National Institute of Health describes the most common comorbidities associated with severe or fatal Covid-19 infections:
“Chronic comorbidities, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, kidney disease, and malignancy are clinical risk factors for a severe or fatal outcome associated with COVID-19, with obesity being the most prevalent and respiratory disease being the most strongly predictive. Knowledge of these risk factors could help clinicians better identify and manage the high-risk populations.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32721533/
Let’s now turn to each state’s health rating in connection to the common comorbidities associated with a Covid related death.
Again, the higher the number the worse the state’s ranking in the US: 50/50 means the worst in the nation while 1/50 means the best in the nation. Also recall what the NIH said about Covid and its comorbidities: “...obesity being the most prevalent and respiratory disease (like COPD) being the most strongly predictive”
Comorbidities in the 3 states which have the highest # of Covid related deaths per 100,000
All three of these states have very high rates of obesity, diabetes, CVD and COPD, all of which are the usual comorbidities in Covid related deaths.
For more information about each state:
Alabama
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Overall_a/state/AL?edition-year=2021
Mississippi
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Overall_a/state/MS?edition-year=2021
Louisiana
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Overall_a/state/LA?edition-year=2021
Comorbidities in the 3 states which have the lowest # of Covid related deaths per 100,000
The overall health of these three states ranks much higher than the three low vaccinated states that have the highest # of deaths per 100,000. Notice how healthy Vermont is in terms of its low rates of high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes. Also, notice how Idaho is a very healthy state. It has the lowest vaccination rate in the nation and few mask mandates, and yet among the 5 highest and 5 lowest vaccinated states, it ranks #3 in deaths per 100,000.
The bottom line is that people who die from Covid usually don’t have good health to start with. It would have made sense in our Covid response to have had a push for better health and done things to alleviate poverty. It’s not too late to do those things now.
Vermont
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Overall_a/state/VT?edition-year=2021
Maine
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Overall_a/state/ME?edition-year=2021
Idaho
https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/Overall_a/state/ME?edition-year=2021
Compare the 6 states in terms of their overall health:
Clearly, the healthier you are, the less likely you will die a Covid related death. On all measures (obesity, CVD, Diabetes and COPD) the states with the lowest number of deaths per 100,000 have better rankings. By promoting exercise and healthy living and better protecting the vulnerable as outlined in the Great Barrington Declaration, I think many lives would have been saved.
The impact of the vaccine on cases
If the Covid vaccines are working, Covid cases should be decreasing in highly vaccinated states. Here is the vaccination rate and when it was achieved in each of the highest vaccinated states:
In this section you will see the Covid case chart for each of our ten states, ordered by vaccination rate, with an arrow pointed to approximately August 21st. (Data retrieved on January 3rd 2022). You will see some states that had sharp increases in cases in December.
The most vaccinated state in the US – Vermont
Vermont has seen an increase in cases.
The 2nd most vaccinated state in the US – Rhode Island
Rhode Island has seen an increase in cases.
The 3rd most vaccinated state in the US – Maine
Maine has seen an increase in cases.
4th most vaccinated state in the US – Connecticut
Connecticut has seen an increase in cases.
The 5th most vaccinated state in the US – Massachusetts
Massachusetts has seen an increase in cases.
We can see in the charts of the 5 highest fully vaccinated states that the vaccine has not decreased the number of Covid cases.
Let’s turn now to the 5 lowest vaccinated states to see if they also had increases in Covid cases and the same sharp increase at the end of December 2021. We’ll use the same date of August 21st.
The 5th least vaccinated state in the US – Louisiana
August 21st marked the start of a decrease in Covid cases in Louisiana which remained steady until late December when cases skyrocketed.
The 4th least vaccinated state in the US – Mississippi
In Mississippi August 21st marked the start of a steady decrease in Covid cases until roughly mid-December when cases skyrocketed.
The 3rd least vaccinated state in the US – Alabama
In Alabama August 21st marked the start of a steady decrease in Covid cases until roughly mid-December when cases skyrocketed.
The 2nd least vaccinated state in the US – Wyoming
Wyoming differs from the other 3 lowest vaccinated states. On August 21st it hadn’t yet reached the peak of its increase in cases. Since its peak there has been a general decrease in cases. There was a slight increase at the end of December 2021, but nothing like we saw in the other states.
The lowest vaccinated state in the US – Idaho
In Idaho, since its peak in cases, there has been a general decrease. The # of cases increased sharply at the end of December.
Comparing Covid case trend lines in the lowest and highest vaccinated states: Interestingly, all 5 of the highest vaccinated states have a similar case trend line and all 5 of the lowest vaccinated states have a similar case trend line. Look at the following image of the two highest and the two lowest vaccinated states. I wonder if the vaccinations play a role in the increase in cases?
Highest vaccinated states Lowest vaccinated states
The Impact of the Covid vaccine on death rates
In this section you will see the Covid death chart for each of our ten states. We will compare the # of deaths in each state: September – December 2020 (before the Covid vaccines were available) to September – December 2021 (after the vaccines were available). There will be a horizontal line above those months.
Use this CDC link to find all state’s death # information:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly/index.htm#SexAndAge
The charts are found at Worldometer:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
The most vaccinated state in the US – Vermont
There has been an increase in the number of Covid related deaths in Vermont since August 21st.
Comparing its September– December total # of Covid related deaths 2020 and 2021, there has been a dramatic 88% increase:
The 2nd most vaccinated state in the US- Rhode Island
There has been an increase in the number of Covid related deaths in Rhode Island since August 21st. Comparing its September– December # of Covid related deaths 2020 and 2021, we find a dramatic decrease.
The 3rd most vaccinated state in the US – Maine
There has been an increase in the number of Covid related deaths in Maine since August 21st. Comparing its September– December # of Covid related deaths 2020 and 2021, we find an 89% increase.
The 4th most vaccinated state in the US – Connecticut
There has been an increase in the number of deaths in Connecticut since August 21st.
Comparing its September– December # of Covid related deaths 2020 and 2021, we find a dramatic 68% decrease.
The 5th highest vaccinated state – Massachusetts
There has been an increase in the number of deaths in Massachusetts since August 21st.
Comparing its September– December # of Covid related deaths 2020 and 2021, we find a 35% decrease.
Here is a table to summarize this death data. Among the 5 most vaccinated states we see:
There were significant increases in the # of Covid related deaths in 2/5 of the highest vaccinated states.
Now let’s look at the lowest vaccination states to see if their death rates increased or decreased since August 21st.
The 5th least vaccinated state in the US- Louisiana
There has been a steady decrease in the number of Covid related deaths in Louisiana since August 21st.
Comparing its September– December # of Covid related deaths 2020 and 2021, we find a 23% decrease.
The 4th least vaccinated state in the US – Mississippi
There was an increase and then a steady decrease in the number of Covid related deaths in Mississippi since August 21st.
Comparing its September– December # of Covid related deaths 2020 and 2021, we find a 34% decrease.
The 3rd least vaccinated state in the US – Alabama
There was an increase in the number of Covid related deaths in Alabama since August 21st followed by a steady decrease.
Comparing its September– December # of Covid related deaths 2020 and 2021, we find a 12% decrease.
The 2nd least vaccinated state in the US- Wyoming
There was an increase in the number of Covid related deaths in Wyoming since August 21st followed by a decrease in December.
Comparing its September– December # of Covid related deaths 2020 and 2021, we find a 33% increase.
The least vaccinated state in the US – Idaho
There was an increase in the number of Covid related deaths in Idaho since August 21st followed by a decrease in December. Comparing its September– November # of Covid related deaths 2020 and 2021, we find a 51% increase.
Here is a table to summarize this death data. Comparing September – December 2020 to 2021 among the 5 least vaccinated states:
Let’s compare the Covid related death trends in the highest and lowest vaccinated states (states organized by vaccination rate).
(Yellow = highly vaccinated; purple = lowest vaccinated)
The % change in the # of Covid related deaths September – December 2020 compared to September- November 2021.
Let’s order those states from the greatest decrease in the number of deaths to the greatest increase in deaths.
(Yellow = highly vaccinated states; purple = lowest vaccinated states)
Comments:
1- 6 of the 10 states saw significant decreases in the # of Covid related deaths in September – December 2021 compared to September – December 2020; 3 of them among the lowest vaccinated states and 3 among the highest vaccinated states.
2- Two of the highest vaccinated states have much higher % increases in Covid related deaths than the increases in the two lowest vaccinated states.
3- The death trend lines look similar in the 5 highest vaccinated states. They also look similar in the 5 lowest vaccinated states.
Let’s look at the trend lines:
Highest vaccinated states Lowest vaccinated states
All of the highly vaccinated states saw an increase in deaths after reaching the 65% vaccination rate.
That 65% fully vaccinated rate combined with the people who had had Covid in those states and then recovered (natural immunity) should have been enough to lead to herd immunity and cause a decrease in deaths.
Looking at the trend lines in the lowest vaccinated states there was a rise and then a fall in the number of deaths while in the highest vaccinated states there was a steady increase in the number of deaths.
What role does Covid vaccination play in the increase / decrease in the # of Covid related deaths year over year?
Go to Worldometer to look at the current death trend lines in each state. It’s updated daily. You can see the charts more clearly there.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us
Evidence the Vaccines don’t work as intended
Why do we see a rise in the # of cases and deaths in highly vaccinated areas? One study, published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry, states that it’s because the Covid virus evolves and becomes resistant to the vaccines.
James Weiler, a scientists, includes this study in his December 2021 article: Spike-Only Vaccine a Colossal Blunder: Michigan State University Shows SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Escape is Due to Vaccination and writes:
“I published a mathematical analysis that showed that the Barnstable County, Massachusetts (CDC data) supports the conclusion of negative efficacy (vaccinated people more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19). Earlier, I had published and announced in a public speech (Harrisburg) that the vaccine program had failed, in part based on my findings that the number of new cases was highest in countries with highest vaccine uptake.”
https://popularrationalism.substack.com/p/spike-only-vaccine-a-colossal-blunder
Here is a similar study with similar findings found published in the European Journal of Epidemiology:
The purpose of the study: “We investigate the relationship between the percentage of population fully vaccinated and new COVID-19 cases across 68 countries and across 2947 counties in the US...”
Their findings: “The sole reliance on vaccination as a primary strategy to mitigate COVID-19 and its adverse consequences needs to be re-examined...”
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10654-021-00808-7.pdf
If the vaccines don’t work as intended, what do we do? Let’s see how a lighter response to Covid turned out for Sweden.
Sweden’s 2020 relaxed response to Covid and the results today compared to Washington, a heavily mandated state.
Sweden responded to Covid differently than the US and countries in Europe in 2020. They were ridiculed in much of 2020 for their less frantic response. Mask wearing and business closures weren’t mandated. Elementary schools were open as usual while high schools / colleges did close temporarily. Sweden had no near the level of mandates that a state like Washington has had.
We will look at charts comparing Sweden to Washington State, which has mask mandates and vaccine mandates for work and at colleges and universities and vaccine passes required in some places. Sweden has a population of roughly 10 million people while Washington state has a population of roughly 7.6 million.
(Today Sweden does have vaccine passports and other mandates.)
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-12-sweden-vaccine-tightens-restrictions-virus.html
Covid Cases
On October 3rd 65% of Sweden’s population was fully vaccinated. On December 3rd 65% of Washington state’s population was fully vaccinated.
https://usafacts.org/visualizations/covid-vaccine-tracker-states/state/washington
The arrows point to those dates. Just like we saw in our analysis of the 5 highest vaccinated states, we see a dramatic increase in cases in both places after achieving a 65% vaccination rate. The red horizontal lines show all of 2021.
Sweden
Washington State
Covid Deaths: Thankfully, we don’t see a rise in Covid related deaths in either Washington or Sweden since reaching a 65% vaccination rate. In fact, we see a drop.
Washington
Sweden
There are 150 deaths per 100,000 in Sweden while there are 130 deaths per 100,000 in Washington state. In Sweden ½ of all of its Covid related deaths in 2020 were attributed to nursing homes, which didn’t send their Covid infected residents to the hospital for treatment. That was a mistake. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52704836
Let’s put Sweden and Washington State’s # Covid related deaths per 100,000 in with our lowest and highest vaccinated states and see how they compare.
Attitudes toward vaccinating children
Unlike in Washington state and in the US at large, Sweden isn’t vaccinating young children, and doesn’t give Covid vaccines to children age 12-15 unless they have high risk medical conditions. Also, they have banned the Moderna vaccine to people under the age of 30. The US wants to vaccinate very young children and hasn’t banned the Moderna vaccine. Find out more about different countries’ views on vaccinating children here-
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-585162