Who's falling behind in getting vaccinated

More than 40% of the US population is now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, but many in the remaining 60% still face critical barriers to health care access that make it harder for even those who want the vaccine to get it.
 

Populations in counties that lag behind the overall Covid-19 vaccination rate in the US tend to be poorer and less educated, with less access to computers and the internet, a CNN analysis of federal data has found.

 

This digital and economic divide contributes to disparities in health care access generally, experts say, and access to Covid-19 vaccines is no exception.

 

"With too many things in health, we focus on the individual behavior without looking at the systems that either make it easy or not for someone to practice that healthy behavior," Dr. Richard Besser, president and chief executive officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, told CNN.

 

A recent CDC study also found that rural counties have vaccinated a smaller share of residents than urban counties in the US, on average. And experts say the vaccination rates have been slower in rural counties for many of the same reasons Covid-19 incidence and death rates were higher in rural counties.