Orleans and Essex counties continue to have the highest per-capita rates of Covid-19 in the state, according to Department of Health data as of Friday.
The two Northeast Kingdom counties both have reported more than 100 cases in the past two weeks per 10,000 people, more than double the statewide average of 44.
Recent cases by county:
The latest town data shows that many of the communities in Orleans and Essex counties report the highest category of case spread in the state, defined as more than 80 infections per 10,000 people in the past two weeks.
At the same time, Essex County continues to have the lowest vaccination rate in the state. Only 62% of eligible Vermonters in the county have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the department’s vaccination dashboard.
Caledonia County is second-lowest, and Orleans County is third-lowest with 76% of its eligible population starting vaccination. The statewide total is 89%.
In the spring, state vaccination efforts attempted to target the remote Northeast Kingdom region with additional clinics after residents raised concerns about the lack of options and the long drives to get to the vaccines.
The department also publishes town-by-town vaccination data, but the information is more limited. The data has categories only for the vaccination rate, rather than exact figures, and many Northeast Kingdom counties are labeled as having “address uncertainty.”
Other communities have suppressed data because their population is so small that the department has privacy concerns, similar to how it does not report communities with fewer than 6 cases.
New VTDigger chart details
VTDigger’s town-by-town data table now includes the number of cases per 10,000 in the last two weeks, similar to how the Department of Health reports data on its map.
We made this change based on reader feedback that the percentage change in cases was confusing, and concerns that it may be misleading in communities with small populations.
This also allows readers to easily see which communities have the highest rate of viral spread, rather than us having to provide a complete list in the story. We’ve added counties for each town as well.
Check out the table below to see how cases have changed in your community, or check out the state map for a more geographic look at case spread.
