Massachusetts Ranked As '30th-Safest State During COVID-19 Pandemic'

BOSTON (CBS) - Massachusetts has been deemed the "30th-safest state during the coronavirus pandemic", according to a ranking by the financial website WalletHub.

Massachusetts lagged behind all but one New England state. Overall, Vermont ranked ninth, Maine 14th, Connecticut 17th, New Hampshire 22nd, and Rhode Island 39th.

Alaska earned the top spot in the rankings while Virginia came in last.

The five key metrics the rankings used were vaccination rate, positive testing rate, hospitalization rate, death rate and transmission rate. The scale for positivity rate, hospitalization rate and estimated transmission rate went up to 12.50 points, the vaccination rate went up to 25.00 points, and the death rate went to 37.50 points.

Overall, Massachusetts had a score of 59.12. The Commonwealth ranked 37th for its death rate, but, despite issues surrounding its COVID vaccine rollout, it ranked 7th in vaccination rate.

Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

In:
• Coronavirus
• COVID-19 Boston Coverage