Your Cheatin Heart - part the eighth

June 15, 2021 


                           New York Times 

                        by A. Corres Pondent 


     RED STATES WITH SPARSE VACCINATIONS EXPLODE WITH COVID 

To the surprise of No One, the Red States, which have been lax in getting their populations vaccinated, are experiencing a resurgence in Covid. The curve started back up on May 14, the day after the CDC and President Biden announced that the fully vaccinated are free to go about their lives without a mask in all venues, not just outdoors.

To the surprise of No One, all those Red State Yahoos immediately dis-masked, even though the majority eligible for vaccines have refused to be vaccinated. If the rest of the country is fortunate, the Yahoos will infect themselves to death.

[update 14 May]
Here's the vaccination record for the states. The bottom of the barrel

At the other end, the five states with the lowest percentage of people with one dose are Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Wyoming and Idaho.

So, one dose isn't the best measure, but still. Here's the benchmark as of 14 May behind the June 15 lede from the NYT.

Since the point is daily trend, updated to use reported daily cases. Per 100K is only reported, in this source, as 7-day.

             cases    per 100K
Mississippi    201     8 

Louisiana      421    10 
 
Alabama        285     6  cases data on the 14th is way whacky, so stick with 7-day average
 
Wyoming         83    12 
 
Idaho          167     9 

We'll stop by the data every now and again to see whether the Oracle turns out to be correct. One actually hopes not, since Covid doesn't respect state lines.

[update 21 May]

             cases    per 100K
Mississippi    105     5 

Louisiana      340     9 
 
Alabama        443     6 
 
Wyoming         70    14 
 
Idaho          167     9 

[update 28 May]

             cases    per 100K
Mississippi    131     5 

Louisiana      354     9 
 
Alabama        228     5 
 
Wyoming         96    12 
 
Idaho          135     8 

[update 4 June]

             cases    per 100K
Mississippi    141     4 

Louisiana      364     7 
 
Alabama        557     6 
 
Wyoming         80    12 
 
Idaho          166     6 

[update 11 June]

             cases    per 100K
Mississippi    236     4 

Louisiana      228     7 
 
Alabama        188     5 
 
Wyoming        103    12 
 
Idaho          118     6 

[10 June] Well, the Lamestream Press is starting, too late in my estimation, to call out the Red States.

A range of theories has emerged about why the South, which as of Wednesday was home to eight of the 10 states with the lowest vaccination rates, lags behind the rest of the country: hesitancy from conservative white people, concerns among some Black residents, longstanding challenges when it comes to health care access and transportation.

The answer, interviews across the region revealed, was all of the above.

[12 June] Since this is reporting day for this series, I'll include this bit of news for today. It should come as no surprise.

Less than half of adults living in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Wyoming have received one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, according to the CDC this week.

Idaho has swapped with Tennessee, which is kind of no surprise. It appears that Blaine county pulled Idaho out of ignominy; and, to no one's surprise, a Blue population. Tennessee has not one county above 50% fully vaccinated.

Blaine County has a higher cost of living than surrounding areas; the median value of its owner-occupied housing units is more than double the state average.
...
Blaine County has gained a reputation as a Democratic Party enclave in strongly Republican Idaho. The Democratic presidential candidate has won the county in every election since 1992.

Mixed bag again. I look askance at the Alabama precipitous drop; color me unconvinced. We'll see. A few more days. Being diehard suspicious of the Red states, perhaps two weekly updates from today in addition to the normative 15 June one. Fingers crossed; may be A. Corres Pondent will have nothing to write. Hope springs eternal.