New from the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis

COVID-19 Vaccination Rates

Fred Ullrich, BA; and Keith Mueller, PhD

This rural data brief provides a longitudinal examination of completion of primary COVID-19 vaccination series in the age-eligible population in metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore counties.

Key Findings:

• Following an initial uptake period, COVID-19 vaccination rates in noncore and micropolitan counties have lagged that in metropolitan counties. In December 2022, the proportion of the population ages 12+ with a completed primary COVID-19 vaccination (i.e. have second dose of a two-dose vaccine or one does of a single-dose vaccine) was 75.5 percent in the metropolitan counties, 60.9 percent in micropolitan counties, and 568 percent in noncore counties.
• The same geographic pattern in vaccination rates exist across all reported age categories.
• The vaccination rate in all geographies and across all age groups has been nearly unchanged for over six months.