Kentucky’s population among the most vulnerable to coronavirus, new report says
Kentucky’s population is the sixth-most vulnerable to coronavirus in the United States because of medical, financial or housing issues, according to a new study from WalletHub.
The study found that Kentucky has the second-most medically vulnerable population in America. Kentucky has the second-highest share of residents with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, according to the study, which also looked at the share of adults with diabetes, high blood pressure and other medical conditions. The percentage of people in nursing facilities also was considered.
COPD does not lead to a higher risk of getting COVID-19, but it is likely to lead to more health complications if someone with COPD gets COVID-19, according to the Respiratory Health Association.
The consumer finance website used 28 kinds of data and measures to determine how vulnerable state populations were in three categories and ranked the states and District of Columbia. The higher the rank, the more vulnerable the state was in that category.
Kentucky was also ranked 16th in financial vulnerability to the coronavirus. The analysis factored in how well residents saved, how many were behind on bills, rates of bankruptcy, unemployment increases and other financial measures.
Kentucky was 19th among states in the share of homes that lack adequate plumbing or kitchen facilities, according to the study.
Kentucky ranked 26th in share of population 65 and older, according to the study. Hospitalization rates for COVID-19 are much higher among people who are 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The financial damage caused by COVID-19 is leaving many Americans without the means to pay their bills and purchase necessities,” Jill Gonzalez, a WalletHub analyst, said in a statement. “Coronavirus is especially devastating to people who already lacked basic hygienic living conditions, such as the homeless.”
The data used was gathered from the U.S. Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Cancer Society, Kaiser Family Foundation, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Health Resources & Services Administration, The Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, TransUnion, U.S. Department of Labor, Council for Community and Economic Research, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and WalletHub research.
Southern states found more vulnerable
The state with the population most vulnerable to the coronavirus was West Virginia because of medical conditions and financial issues. Southern states dominated the rest of the top 10 most vulnerable. Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama rounded out the top five. Kentucky was followed by Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina and Georgia.
The least vulnerable states tend to be farther West or in the Northeast, including Wisconsin, Wyoming, Connecticut, Iowa, Montana, Vermont, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Colorado and Utah, according to the report
“Utah has far fewer people with pre-existing conditions than most other states, along with the smallest elderly population, which means its citizens have a much lower risk of severe symptoms and hospitalization from coronavirus,” Jill Gonzalez, a WalletHub analyst, said in a statement.
“Utah residents are well-prepared financially to survive the pandemic, as the state has the highest percentage of households who saved money for unexpected expenses or emergencies in the past 12 months.”