Corrected January 4, 2022. Death per capita numbers were all high by a factor of 10, now correct.
There have been significant differences in the impact of COVID-19 across the various U.S. states. This article will compare the best and worst of these impacts. We look at two important factors: total COVID case counts and COVID deaths. It is found that states faring well or poorly in one regard may not have a similar standing with the other.
We have used data from WorldOMeter to construct lists of the 10 best and the 10 worst states in each of the two categories. The lists have been posted on Twitter.
Best and worst states with regard to total cases since the pandemic began:
The tweet displaying this table above: https://twitter.com/jlounsbury59/status/1477847915817226240.
Best and worst states with regard to deaths since the pandemic began:
The tweet displaying the table above: https://twitter.com/jlounsbury59/status/1477859614599356417.
Discussion
The very first thing that jumped out to us from this data was that two states, Alaska and Utah appeared on the worst cases list and on the best deaths list. The inference is that these states may have dealt better with the treatment of the virus compared to other states.
Best States for Cases
All of the best cases are either islands or on the West or East Coast, except for Vermont which is less than 80 miles from the Atlantic Ocean at its nearest point.
Worst States for Cases
Seven of the worst states are non-coastal. The coastal states on the list are Rhode Island, Alaska, Florida, and New York. There are 11 states in total because of the tie for #10.
Best States for Deaths
Nine of the best states are either East or West Coast, including Vermont because of its coastal proximity. The only inland state on this list is Utah.
Worst States for Deaths
Seven of the worst states are southern, one is southwestern (Arizona), and two are northeastern (New Jersey and New York).
Overview Summary
Seven states and territories are stars (if there is such a thing as a star during a pandemic). These states or territories appeared on both the 10 best cases list and the 10 best deaths list: Hawaii, Vermont, Puerto Rico, Oregon, Maine, Washington, and District of Columbia. As mentioned previously Utah and Alaska deserve kudos for effective patient care for making on the 10 best deaths list after appearing on the 10 worst cases list.
