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States Where COVID-19 Is Bad Right Now

States Where COVID-19 Is Bad Right Now

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50. Wyoming

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49. Utah

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46. New Mexico

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45. Washington

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44. Minnesota

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42. Alaska

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41. Maryland

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40. Montana

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39. Arizona

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38. Rhode Island

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36. Vermont

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34. Kansas

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33. Oregon

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29. Wisconsin

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28. Indiana

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27. Idaho

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26. Ohio

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24. Texas

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23. Tennessee

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22. Massachusetts

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21. Illinois

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19. South Dakota

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17. Connecticut

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16. New York

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15. New Jersey

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13. Missouri

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12. Arkansas

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11. West Virginia

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10. Kentucky

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9. North Carolina

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8. Florida

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7. Virginia

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6. Louisiana

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5. Georgia

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4. South Carolina

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1. Alabama

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50. Wyoming
49. Utah
48. Nevada
47. Colorado
46. New Mexico
45. Washington
44. Minnesota
43. Iowa
42. Alaska
41. Maryland
40. Montana
39. Arizona
38. Rhode Island
37. New Hampshire
36. Vermont
35. California
34. Kansas
33. Oregon
32. Mississippi
31. Oklahoma
30. Maine
29. Wisconsin
28. Indiana
27. Idaho
26. Ohio
25. North Dakota
24. Texas
23. Tennessee
22. Massachusetts
21. Illinois
20. Pennsylvania
19. South Dakota
18. Michigan
17. Connecticut
16. New York
15. New Jersey
14. Nebraska
13. Missouri
12. Arkansas
11. West Virginia
10. Kentucky
9. North Carolina
8. Florida
7. Virginia
6. Louisiana
5. Georgia
4. South Carolina
3. Hawaii
2. Delaware
1. Alabama

COVID-19 has all but disappeared from the consciousness of huge swaths of the American public, but it certainly hasn't gone away, and remains a risk to our health — and especially to the health of older members of the population.

This fact was brought home on Feb. 28, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially endorsed the recommendation of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that adults aged 65 and older receive an additional dose of the latest vaccine this spring, even if they got one last fall. "Adults 65 years and older are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19," according to a statement from the CDC, "with more than half of COVID-19 hospitalizations during October 2023 to December 2023 occurring in this age group."

Of course seniors aren't the only ones who are still affected by the disease, with virtually every age group being represented in the statistics. The good news is that the rate of overall COVID-19 hospitalizations across the nation continues to decline, though the decline is slow. And for a variety of reasons, among them population concentrations and vaccination rates, the situation in some states continues to look a lot better than it does in some others.

To determine the states where COVID-19 is the worst right now, 24/7 Tempo consulted data from the CDC on the number of new hospital admissions due to COVID-19 per 100,000 state residents for the week of Feb. 18-Feb. 24, 2024. (Click here to compare this week's numbers with last week's.)

As a measure of the slow downward trend, the five states with the most hospital admissions this week recorded a cumulative total of 36.5 admissions per 100,000 residents; last week's total for the five worst (two of them different from last week) was 38.9 admissions — so progress of a sort.

The state with the dubious honor of having the most hospital admissions both last week and this week is Alabama, with its number barely inching down from 8.5 to 8.4 per 100,000.

On the other hand, the state with the fewest admissions last week, Idaho, with 2.7 per 100,000, is definitely going in the wrong direction, recording 4.8 admissions in the current reporting period.

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