FARGO, ND (AP) – The North Dakota vaccination image is defined by a vertical line running from the Canadian border to South Dakota through Jamestown. In the east, according to health officials, rates are from fair to poor. In the west, they are worse.
Twenty-two counties, all located in the eastern third of the state and all connected, have vaccination rates of at least a dose between 50% and 60%. Of the remaining 31 counties, only two have rates above 50%, with many much lower than that, according to the state Department of Health.
“Clearly we have more hesitations in the western part of the state,” said Dr. Doug Griffin, Sanford’s vice president and Fargo medical officer. “I think there is a much more frontier and independent nature and philosophy. Politics is part of it, but I don’t think they want to be told what to do. But really, I’m not sure I have a good answer for that. “
This translates into a higher incidence of COVID-19 in the western part of a state that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention values 45th in the country as a percentage of people fully vaccinated.
According to researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the five counties with the highest number of cases per capita in the last two weeks are Emmons, Stark, McKenzie, Mountrail and Burleigh, all west of Jamestown. Vaccine coverage in Emmons is less than 38%, Stark is less than 37% and McKenzie is just over 33%.
According to the state hospital tracker, there were only two beds of intensive care personnel available west of North Dakota, and toward Bismarck.
“COVID hot spots are reflected images of the state of vaccination,” Griffin said.
Republican Gov. Doug Burgum convened his first COVID-19 report earlier this week in more than five months to promote vaccines and urge people to talk about them with medical professionals. When asked to explain the vaccination discrepancy, he said that while “people have and sometimes have good reasons to question the federal government,” the highly contagious delta variant should be taken seriously. of the virus.
“I think the politicization of every aspect of the pandemic, from vaccines to masks, has created what some call the death of the expert,” Burgum said. “Because of the lack of trust in news sources, people create their own sources and their own networks. I think that’s just the fact. “
Not all medical workers are on the same page. Griffin said the same east-west scenario has been developed in his system and is similar for masks and tests.
Some health workers have been among those who attended recent vaccine protests in Bismarck and Dickinson, west of North Dakota. More than 250 people gathered at Dickinson’s rally, carrying placards that said “If there is a risk, there is a choice” and “Freedom is not strength.” Some wore bushes.
Dr. Cary Ward, chief physician of CHI Health’s Midwest district, which includes the largest hospital system in western North Dakota, said that while he did not discount the policy, many things are reduced to residents who they live in remote areas. Like North Dakota, higher vaccination rates are also observed in the more populated areas of eastern Nebraska, he said.
“I think there’s a feeling that because the population is smaller, people are more dispersed and hear about fewer cases and I think they’re less likely to get it,” Ward said about the vaccine. “You know, the same thing happened with the Spanish flu. It started in big cities and people warned, “Don’t think you’re immune to that when you’re in small towns.”