Rural America Reminded The Importance Of Getting A COVID Vaccination

As mask mandates came to an end in both Oregon and Washington this weekend, the health community is remind farm county the coronavirus has not disappeared. In fact, COVID-19 vaccination rates in rural America continue to trail rates in most urban areas across the country. Dr. Rudy Tedja is the medical director of infection prevention with Renown Medical Group in Reno, NV.

“In general, compared to the city, the more rural you are, vaccination rates are lower, and when the vaccination rates are lower, your prevalence of COVID infections are higher per 100,000. So right now, as we stand in the rural counties, the rate of fully-vaccinated individuals are about in the mid 30%-ish to like low 40% compared to the 65% and above.”

While the Omicron case numbers are falling, they haven’t disappeared. That’s why Tedja said it’s still important to get vaccinated.

“In the whole United States, the cases are decreasing. There are probably pockets here and there, but in general, the trend of the Omicron cases is going down. What they can do to protect themselves and others is to get vaccinated. Vaccination is the best way to not only protect themselves, but protect their family members, their co-workers, their friends, community members, and others, and so the benefit is just tremendous of getting vaccinated.”

Tedja noted unvaccinated rural residents are still running a significant risk of illness or death.

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