A report released Tuesday ranked Alabama the state with the third-slowest recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with its lowest marks related to its lagging vaccination rates.
The personal finance website WalletHub compared all 50 states and Washington, D.C., across 18 metrics grouped into three categories: COVID health; leisure and travel; and economy and labor market.
It received its lowest scores for COVID health as the state with the lowest share of its vaccine used and second-lowest percentage of its population vaccinated as of Tuesday. As of Wednesday, it was last in the nation for fully vaccinated residents, at 35.66 percent. That compared to 51 percent of the overall U.S. population, according to the CDC.
With one being the fastest recovery and 25 being average, Alabama was ranked as follows in nine metrics highlighted by WalletHub:
- 50th – Share of population fully vaccinated
- 51st – Share of vaccine supply used
- 45th – COVID-19 death rate
- 45th – COVID-19 hospitalization rate
- 44th – Share of hospitals with staff shortages
- 29th – Share of hospitals with supply shortages
- 15th – Real GDP vs. pre-COVID levels
- 31st – Total weekly consumer spending vs. pre-COVID levels
- 17th – Real estate active listings vs. pre-COVID levels
The study found that Alabama had the highest average daily restaurant visits while also having among the highest rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations and share of hospitals with staff shortages.
