(Mike Osborne) -- Vaccine hesitancy like that reported in rural Tennessee counties can “hinder progress toward ending the pandemic,” according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and prevention.
The CDC on Tuesday released a study of vaccination disparities between urban and rural areas of the country. The report details a 6.8 percent urban-rural difference between the numbers of fully vaccinated adults nationwide.
The disparity is even higher here in Tennessee where 7.6 percent fewer rural adult residents are now immunized.
Compare that to states like Connecticut where the disparity is less than one percent.
However, a number of states are reporting discrepancies considerably larger than what Tennessee has experienced. Florida is currently reporting at 13 percent disparity between rural-urban vaccination rates.
A Kaiser Family Foundation survey conducted in early April found that 3 in 10 rural U.S. residents "either will 'definitely not' get vaccinated or will only do so if required."
