Shame on Tennessee. Here Are The States Where Covid-19 Vaccine Refusal Is Still The Highest, Poll Finds — Including Ones Where Cases Have Surged
Nashville, TN –The poll, conducted July 24 – August 23 among an average of 3,334 adults per state, found the state with the highest share of residents who say they won’t get the vaccine is South Dakota, with 33% of residents refusing the vaccine, followed by Idaho (32%) and Alaska (29%).
Rounding out the top 10 most vaccine-resistant states are Oklahoma (29%), Mississippi (26%), West Virginia (26%), Alabama (26%), Montana (25%), Missouri (25%) and Tennessee (25%).
Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Missouri all showed high rates of refusal in spite of Covid-19 outbreaks in those states this summer that have ranked among the worst in the world, and West Virginia and Alaska are also currently in the top 10 states for number of Covid-19 cases per capita.
The growing controversy surrounding mask mandates in Tennessee schools.
Tennessee is under investigation after Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order requiring K-12 schools to let parents opt their kids out of face mask mandates.
The investigation The investigation, led by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, is investigating whether the order discriminates against students who are at a heightened risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
| Tennessee is one of five states the office is investigating, in addition to Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah. Despite criticism, Lee has stood by his decision, saying whether children should wear masks in school is a decision best left to parents. |
| U.S. Education Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona previously criticized Lee’s order in a letter sent to the governor and state education chief Penny Schwinn. Cardona reinforced that sentiment in a Monday news release announcing the investigation. |
| “It’s simply unacceptable that state leaders are putting politics over the health and education of the students they took an oath to serve,” Cardona said in the release. “The Department will fight to protect every student’s right to access in-person learning safely and the rights of local educators to put in place policies that allow all students to return to the classroom full-time in-person safely this fall.” |
| Coronavirus in Tennessee by the numbers: |
| • 42% of individuals fully vaccinated in Tennessee • 51% of individuals fully vaccinated in Davidson County • 29% of individuals fully vaccinated in Montgomery County • 40% of individuals fully vaccinated in Rutherford County • 79,462: Active cases statewide • 6,378: 7-day average of daily new cases • 83: 7-day average of daily new hospitalizations • 13,429: Statewide deaths |
| Source: Tennessee Department of Health data as of Aug. 30. Vaccination percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. The number of coronavirus cases in Tennessee is at 1,051,809 Tuesday (August 31st) with 9,686 new cases. There were 57 more deaths reported, for a total of 13,486, State Health Department officials said. The state currently has 3,267 people hospitalized from the virus, which is 81 more than on Monday. Testing numbers are above 9.117 million across the state. The number of people who have recovered from coronavirus in Tennessee is 957,301, which is 91 percent. (Staff Compiled Data) |