Studies highlight the impact of Omicron on unvaccinated rural Americans

Although less severe than the delta type, the more contagious Omicron SARS-CoV-2 type is twice as deadly in unvaccinated people and therefore more rural Americans than urban dwellers. Is giving a big blow to. Study today of Medical frontier find.

People living in less densely populated areas continue to bear the highest COVID-19 burden, as the country’s low-vaccination areas are mostly rural, according to research authors from four states in the United States and universities in Zimbabwe. increase. They are worried that the American countryside will face disproportionate long-term effects from the protracted condition known as long COVID.

Co-author Dr. Claudia Moreno, an assistant professor of physiology and biophysics at the University of Washington, said:University of Cincinnati news release..

Disparity between rural and urban areas

For cross-sectional studies, researchers found COVID-19 cases and deaths and vaccination status in 2,417 counties from December 1, 2021 to January 31, 2022, when Omicron was the predominant strain. I analyzed the data about.

During the study period, the incidence increased from 538.9 new cases per 100,000 population to 2,827.9. And the mortality rate has risen from 6.1 per 100,000 to 11.2.

Researchers have found that counties with a complete vaccination rate of 60% or higher have a 40% higher incidence of COVID-19 than counties with a vaccination rate of 40% or lower. However, in poorly vaccinated counties, mortality was 60% higher. Case fatality rates in low-vaccinated counties were 2.2 times higher than in high-vaccinated counties.

Highly vaccinated counties are mostly urban, while low vaccinated counties tend to be more rural.

The authors continue to make significant differences in the distribution of significant health outcomes in low-vaccine areas with the highest COVID-19-related mortality between delta and omicron waves in the United States. Vulnerable communities living in low-vaccination areas Mostly rural areas suffer the greatest burden of the COVID-19 pandemic during the vaccination era. “

They said, “Local communities often face many challenges that exacerbate national health inequalities, such as limited cold chain vaccine storage facilities and health care workers who administer vaccines. Lack of resources. Geographical conditions can also exacerbate access inequalities.

The rural population is older and therefore more vulnerable to COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths, with less access to intensive care units and ventilators in the most severe cases.

Driving in the dark due to the small number of reports

“Omicron spread crazy. The daily peak of Omicron infection was three times the peak of Delta,” said Dr. Diego Quadros, lead author of the study and director of the Institute for Digital Epidemiology at the University of Cincinnati. I am.

Coupled with the rapid spread of Omicron, Moreno said the authorities’ ability to track COVID-19 infections has diminished. This is because few people report new cases and it is difficult for the community to assess current risks.

“In the early days of the pandemic, people knew exactly what the infection rate in their county was every day, like the weather,” she said. “And now there is a peak when the load is very high, but the general perception is low.”

Cuadros said the disparities revealed by the study have deeper implications. “COVID-19 has revealed all of these hidden problems in our healthcare system,” he said. “We consider the United States to be a rich country with good health care, but it is not. It is strong in some areas and vulnerable to poor access to health care in others.”

Moreno said he is among the many who know who died of COVID-19. Her cousin’s husband, a basketball coach, succumbed to what seemed to be healthy.

“It was devastating to my family,” she said. “That’s why my research has a personal motivation to help the community.

“Many of us are again infected with COVID, which is mild, but we need to remember those who died of the disease,” Moreno said.

“That’s why it’s important to tell people that they need to be vaccinated. Vaccines work. Vaccines really help people prevent death and health complications.”