Safest States To Visit During COVID

With only 0.62% of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of January 20, and vaccination being an essential component for full reopening of the economy, data center website, WalletHub released its report on the Safest States During COVID-19, along with accompanying videos and audio files.

WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across five key metrics. Our 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.

Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.

In order to identify the safest states during the COVID-19 pandemic, they compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across five key metrics: 1) “Vaccination Rate,” 2) “Positive Testing Rate,” 3) “Hospitalization Rate,” 4) “Death Rate,” and 5) “Transmission Rate.”

These metrics are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the safest conditions.

We then determined the weighted average across all metrics to calculate an overall score for each state and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.

Vaccination Rate: Double Weight (~25.00 Points)
Note: This metric refers to the share of the population age 16 and older initiating vaccination. It is calculated as follows: Total Number of People Initiating Vaccination / Population age 16 and older.

Positive Testing Rate: Full Weight (~12.50 Points)
Note: This metric refers to the positive COVID-19 testing rate in the state between January 13, 2021, and January 19, 2021.

Hospitalization Rate: Full Weight (~12.50 Points)
Note: This metric refers to the COVID-19 hospitalization rate in the state between January 13, 2021, and January 19, 2021.

Death Rate: Triple Weight (~37.50 Points)
Note: This metric refers to the COVID-19 death rate in the state between January 13, 2021, and January 19, 2021.

Estimated Transmission Rate: Full Weight (~12.50 Points)
Note: This metric refers to the current COVID-19 reproduction number, which is an estimate of the average number of people to whom an infected person will transmit the COVID-19 virus.