When it comes to vaccinated people does New York have the most out of every state in America? I know that when it comes to vaccines, especially the COVID-19 vax, a lot of New Yorkers are opposed to getting them. But where do we rank out of all of the 50 states? Vaccines are a hot topic again as new COVID-19 variants are being discovered and flu season is quickly approaching. It's also back-to-school season, meaning kids have to be up-to-date.

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What Is A Vaccine?

While vaccines are a hot topic, many people don't really understand what a vaccine is. According to the National Library of Medicine,

Vaccines are injections (shots), liquids, pills, or nasal sprays that you take to teach your body's immune system to recognize and defend against harmful germs. For example, there are vaccines to protect against diseases caused by viruses, like the ones that cause the flu and COVID-19, and bacteria, including tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis.

There are many types of vaccines - live-attenuated, inactivated, subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate, toxoid, mRNA, and viral vector vaccines. You can find out more about each type of vaccine here.

Is New York The Most Vaccinated State In America?

Photo by Mufid Majnun on Unsplash

NOPE! Not even close. I know it might be shocking, but the folks over at WalletHub ran the numbers.

In order to find out which states vaccinate most, WalletHub analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 16 key metrics, ranging from the share of vaccinated children to the share of people without health insurance to the flu vaccination rate among adults.

Here are some of the WalletHub study highlights for New York:
(1=Best; 25=Avg.)

12th – Influenza Vaccination Rate (6 Months to 17 Years Old)
22nd – Teenagers Aged 13-17 with Current HPV Vaccination
8th – Teenagers Aged 13-17 with a MenACWY Vaccination
19th – Flu Vaccination Coverage Rate Among Adults
46th – Adults with a Tetanus Vaccination
46th – Adults Aged 60 and Older with a Zoster Vaccination
46th – Children 19-35 Months old Living in Poverty with Combined 7-Vaccine Series
9th – Population (civilian and non-institutionalized) without Health Insurance Coverage