Study: State ranks in middle of safest states to live during pandemic

Michigan ranks just below Nebraska (No. 23), and just above Oregon (No. 25). The Mitten State ranked in the top five in only two categories. It was fifth-best in the lowest death rate, but Michigan was tied for fifth worst (at No. 35) for the highest transmission rate.

The state of Michigan ranked No. 24 in a wallethub.com study of the safest states to live in during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to find out the safest states during the COVID-19 pandemic, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across five key metrics. The data set includes the rates of COVID-19 transmission, positive testing, hospitalizations, and death, as well as the share of the eligible population getting vaccinated. According to the study, around 55% of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Michigan ranks just below Nebraska (No. 23), and just above Oregon (No. 25). The Mitten State ranked in the top five in only two categories. It was fifth-best in the lowest death rate, but Michigan was tied for fifth worst (at No. 35) for the highest transmission rate. Michigan was considered low for both the COVID-19 death rate and low vaccination rate (No. 36).

Overall, the top five safest states to live in during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to wallethub. com are Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, California, and Rhode Island. The five worst states to live in Wyoming, Georgia, West Virginia, Idaho, and Alabama.

Another key data point indicated Blue states (voted Democratic in the 2020 presidential election) were safer than Red states in the analysis. Blue states held an average rank of 15.30 for the safest states to live in during the COVID-19 pandemic than the Red states, which carried an average rank of 37.12.

Wallet Hub analyst was asked what impact unvaccinated people have on the economy.

“Our economic recovery will not reach its full potential until the vast majority of people who are medically able to get vaccinated do so,” WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez said. “The more people who decline to get vaccinated, the more risk there is to public health, especially as the new delta COVID-19 variant spreads.

“The safety level of the country impacts the economy because it is tied to the lifting of restrictions and it determines how confident people are to go out and spend money,” Gonzalez added. “While we have made a lot of progress with vaccination, recent polls have found that most people who are still unvaccinated do not plan to ever get the vaccine. Investing in campaigns to convince more people to get vaccinated may lead to bigger economic returns down the line.”