It was hard for almost anyone in America to understand what a real pandemic would be like. Who could imagine that the nation with the most sophisticated and advanced health care system in the world could not prevent a wave of tens of millions of virus-driven cases and almost 1 million deaths? Still, even with the omicron variant, some states are safer than others, and the safest state for COVID-19 is Maine.
In the early days of the pandemic it was hard to imagine that the disease would come in waves, with the worst wave (the fourth one) starting just weeks ago, despite a huge push for vaccination and tens of millions of Americans getting the shots.
It was likely also difficult to fathom that the virus would have variants that could become more dangerous or transmissible as each one emerged or that a high percentage of Americans would reject vaccines, despite rock-solid research that they are safe and effective and that not getting vaccinated would put many in grave danger.
This spread of COVID-19 has shown that almost no one is safe. That has become particularly true with the new omicron variant, which is extremely transmissible. Vaccination, mask-wearing, and social distancing have become critical to individual protection, as much as at any time in the past. (COVID-19: All the countries the CDC doesn’t want you to go.)
Some of the people who have not followed these protocols carefully have gotten sick, but also some who tried their best. Some vaccinated people also got infected. These cases have contributed to the overflow of patients in hospitals being treated for the virus. Once again, some of these hospitals might need to triage who should be treated, and perhaps, who will not be.
There are several ways to measure how dangerous or safe a geographic area is. Among these are new cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and vaccinations. And these can be measured by averages over seven- or 14-day periods. For vaccinations, the yardstick is the percentage of the population that has received a shot, or two, or three. (These are the states where the most people are vaccinated.)
To find the safest state for COVID-19, 24/7 Wall St. chose the measure of average daily cases over the most recent seven days per 100,000, using data from The New York Times as of Jan. 19. Nationwide, the daily average cases was up over 38% over the past 14 days to 756,752 cases a day, or 228 daily cases per 100,000 people.
The state with the lowest seven-day average of daily cases per 100,000 people is Maine at 66. This figure is 26% higher than it was 14 days ago. The daily average of new cases over the past seven days in the state is 891.
Behind Maine is Michigan, with an average of 99 new cases over the past seven days per 100,000 people, or 9,913 average daily cases. This is actually 16% lower compared to 14 days ago. Next is Idaho, with a seven-day average of daily cases of 1,929, which translates to 108 per 100,000. New daily cases in Idaho grew 182% over the past 14 days.
Click here to see the safest state for COVID-19
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