Thread by @NBCLX

A new NBCLX analysis details the high cost of low vaccination: In 2021, the states with America’s lowest vaccination rates lost residents to COVID at a rate two to five times higher than states with high vaccination rates. trib.al/axssiq7

"The majority of people got exposed [in 2021], either to the virus or to the vaccine,” said @DavidWDowdy of @JohnsHopkinsSPH. “But one of the downsides of a herd immunity policy, or we can call it an infection policy, is more people die." trib.al/axssiq7

America’s highest 2021 COVID death rates, according to @JohnsHopkins, through 12/21:
1. Oklahoma (248 per 100,000)
2. Alabama (230)
3. West Virginia (216)
4. Arizona (208)
5. Kentucky (205)
trib.al/axssiq7

America’s lowest 2021 COVID death rates, according to @JohnsHopkins, through 12/21:
1. Vermont (50 per 100,000)
2. Hawaii (54)
3. Puerto Rico (54)
4. Utah (75)
5. New Hampshire (81)
trib.al/axssiq7

Death rates also seem to correlate with attitudes toward social distancing, masks & economic restrictions. For example, Florida (188 deaths per 100K) and Texas (162 per 100K) had higher death rates than the national average (137 deaths per 100K). trib.al/axssiq7

As @davidwdowdy pointed out, COVID restrictions come at a cost, too. "They have an economic cost, they have a psychological cost, and they have a cost on people's well-being," he said.

Read more of @noahpransky's in-depth 2021 analysis: trib.al/axssiq7