CT got fewer vaccines than other states, but did far better at getting people vaccinated
Policymakers and experts have expressed disappointment at the slow rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines. While the vaccines were developed and manufactured at record speeds, getting Americans vaccinated has been slower than expected. The Secretary of Human Services expected to have 20 million Americans vaccinated by the end of 2020. But as of December 30th at 9am, only 12.4 million doses had been delivered to states and 2.8 million people had been vaccinated, according to the CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine tracker.
As 2020 ended, Connecticut didn’t get as many vaccine doses as other states, but we did a far better job at getting the vaccines to people. According to the CDC, as of Thursday morning, we ranked 40th among states in the number of vaccines per capita delivered to our state, but second highest in the percent of delivered doses that were used to vaccinate state residents.
Many congratulations to Connecticut’s very busy front line public health professionals and healthcare providers.
By the morning of New Year’s Eve, 112,500 doses of COVID vaccine had been delivered to Connecticut. Per capita, that is 17% lower than the US average. All our surrounding states received more doses per capita.
However, Connecticut did a better job of getting the vaccines we did receive to the people who need them, behind only South Dakota. Connecticut used 47.7% of our delivered vaccines by the end of the year, over twice the US average of 22.5%.
Consequently, Connecticut ranked sixth highest in the number of residents vaccinated per capita. Our percent of people initiating vaccination (who’ve received their first dose) was 1,505 per hundred thousand population, 76% higher than the US average of 853.
