The state of Texas has dropped in the rankings of safe states to live in during COVID-19, according to a new study.
The Wallet Hub 2022 Safest States During COVID-19 found that last year, the Lone Star state scored 19th place, and this year it’s in 30th place.
Texas ranked 30th this year mainly because of its high hospitalization rate and high positive testing rate during the past week, according to WalletHub data.
“The difference in ranking is caused by the increase in the positive testing rate from 5.9% in the first week of December to 34.7% during the week of January 12,” said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with WalletHub. “Texas has also seen an almost five times increase in the hospitalization rate during the week of January 13 compared to the week of December 2. The death rate has also more than doubled in the week of January 19 compared to the week of December 8.”
“The state also has a high transmission rate, and a lower vaccination rate at 80.3%,” Gonzalez told The Dallas Express. “All these factors indicate that Texas authorities are not doing a great job in handling the pandemic and keeping residents safe.”
The study also found that Texas ranked low for the number of COVID deaths at No. 13.
“A low death rate could be an indication of a good healthcare system and treatment options, but it could also mean that people who were infected with the virus only had mild symptoms,” Gonzalez said in an interview.
About 64% of the population nationwide has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of January 25, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID tracker.
“Low COVID safety has a negative impact on a state’s economy,” Gonzalez said. “If transmission rates are high, people don’t feel safe enough to go outside and live their lives in a normal manner. This includes going out to eat or shop.”
Hawaii landed in first place due to its low death rate and low estimated transmission rate. The state also has a low hospitalization rate and a high vaccination rate at 94.8%, according to Gonzalez.
“Hawaii’s high vaccination rate is essential to keeping the pandemic under control,” she said. “The main thing Texas needs to do to catch up with Hawaii is increase its vaccination rate. This should help lower its hospitalization rate and death rate, as well as decrease the transmission rate.”
The study further found that Blue or Democratic states are generally safer than Red or Republican states because they have a higher vaccination rate, lower hospitalization rates, death rates, and transmission rates. However, Florida is an exception.
The Sunshine State was the highest-ranking Republican state at 7th place.
“Just because on average blue states ranked higher than red states, does not mean all red states are unsafe,” Gonzalez added. “Florida had the lowest death rate during the past week, which is a direct consequence of its low current estimated transmission rate. The state also has a fairly high vaccination rate at 86.5%.”
