Mississippi is the worst in the country for vaccinations

The World Health Organization reports that vaccines are preventing between 4-5 million deaths worldwide a year, but a new report indicates that Mississippi is the state the vaccinates the least. The report comes from WalletHub, a personal finance website.

WalletHub analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 16 key metrics, ranging from the share of vaccinated children to the share of people without health insurance to the flu vaccination rate among adults. Mississippi ranked 51st in the study. Massachusetts ranks as the state that vaccinates the most, followed by Rhode Island, Iowa, Vermont and Connecticut. The bottom five are, in order, Wyoming, Georgia, Arizona, Alaska, and Mississippi

Massachusetts has the highest influenza vaccination coverage for children, 77.70 percent, which 2.1 times higher than in Wyoming, the state with the lowest at 37.80 percent.

Minnesota has the highest share of adults with the tetanus vaccination, 82.60 percent, which is 1.5 times higher than in New Jersey, the state with the lowest at 53.50 percent.

South Dakota has the highest share of adults aged 60 and older with the zoster vaccination, 55.10 percent, which is 2.1 times higher than in Mississippi, the state with the lowest at 26.00 percent.

Minnesota also has the highest share of children 19 to 35 months old living in poverty with the combined seven-vaccine series, 84.30 percent, which is 1.7 times higher than in California, the state with the lowest at 50.70 percent.

To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, visit: https://wallethub.com/edu/states-that-vaccinate-the-most/66237