The 12 states most at risk from COVID-19, all with high levels of Delta and below-average vaccination rates

A map shows the 12 states most at risk from COVID-19, all with high levels of Delta and below-average vaccination rates The 12 US states at most risk from COVID-19 include Arkansas, Nevada, and Missouri, according to Covid Act Now, which is partnered with Harvard. Dr. Catherine Schuster-Bruce Business Insider

The US states most at risk from COVID-19 include those with below-average vaccination rates and high levels of the infectious Delta variant, according to data from an influential non-profit that's partnered with Stanford, Harvard and Georgetown Universities. 

Twelve states including Arkansas, Nevada, and Missouri are now at "high risk" from COVID-19, according to Covid Act Now's US COVID risk and vaccine tracker, which mostly uses Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. There are just two states at low risk from COVID-19 — Massachusetts and Vermont. 

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The 12 states at high risk from COVID-19, according to Covid Act Now, are: Nevada, Utah, Missouri, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina.

Covid Act Now's risk calculations are based on six factors that include infection rates, the percentage of people vaccinated, capacity at intensive care units, and socio-economic vulnerabilities that may impact recovery. There are five levels of risk: severe risk, very-high risk, high risk, medium risk and low risk.

Professor Eric Topol, director at the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said on Twitter on Friday that states had moved up risk categories as the Delta variant continued to spread, citing Covid Act Now. He said Delta accounted for at least 35% of new cases in these high-risk states.

Thirty-six states are at medium risk, while two — Massachusetts and Vermont — are low risk, according to Covid Act Now's data. Both of these states have low levels of Delta variant, according to Scripps Research's Outbreak.info. 

More than 80% of people are fully vaccinated in both states, according to data from Johns Hopkins University — well above the nation's 47% average.

By comparison, the Delta variant accounts for more than 80% of new cases in Arkansas, Nevada, and Missouri, according to Outbreak.info. The number of people fully vaccinated is 34% in Arkansas, 42% in Nevada, and 39% in Missouri.  ....

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