While COVID cases are going the wrong way, most of those getting very sick are people who have not been vaccinated. Yet that doesn’t seem to be enough of a warning to the unvaccinated community.
Coronavirus cases are on the rise again, and in recent weeks, Massachusetts has seen one of the sharpest spikes in the nation.
The New York Times maintains a chart comparing trends in each state. Ranking by the increase in new cases over the last 14 days, as of Tuesday, Massachusetts was third, behind only Tennessee and Alabama.
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New cases in the Bay State rose by 472% over that time period, the chart showed, with an average of 268 new COVID-19 cases per day.
More than 130 people, many of whom are fully vaccinated, recently contracted coronavirus in Provincetown in a cluster of cases connected to the Fourth of July. Local health officials have advised people in the town to wear masks indoors regardless of their vaccination status.
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Massachusetts fared better by other metrics. The 14-day change in hospitalizations was an increase of just 8%, the 15th best mark among U.S. states, the Times' data showed. With an average daily death count of 1.7, Massachusetts has had the sixth-lowest death rate in recent weeks at 0.02 per 100,000 residents.
Those figures in hospitalizations and deaths are perhaps unsurprising, with Massachusetts ranking second behind Vermont in vaccinations — 63% of Bay State residents are fully-vaccinated against COVID-19.
In fact, all six New England states are in the top seven in vaccinations, with Maryland placing sixth between Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Still, with the Delta variant spreading, Massachusetts health officials are urging those who remain hesitant to get the vaccine.
More on the coronavirus pandemic
Vermont's 14-day change in new cases placed fourth, just behind Massachusetts, increasing by 429%, but the average number of daily cases still sat at just 13. Connecticut ranked eighth in that metric, the Times' chart showed, with Rhode Island 16th. Maine and New Hampshire placed 42nd and 43rd, respectively.
Vermont had the best rate of new hospitalizations among all states, with a 34% decrease in the last 14 days. Rhode Island was seventh-best, with hospitalizations decreasing by 2%. Connecticut was 11th best, New Hampshire was 16th and Maine was 18th.
Connecticut's death rate was second-lowest behind Alaska, which has averaged 0. Vermont's was fifth-lowest, New Hampshire's was 23rd-lowest and Rhode Island's was 26th-lowest.
Maine, despite ranking third in vaccinations, ranked fifth with 0.21 deaths per 100,000 residents, averaging 2.9 deaths per day.
