The deployment of vaccines beginning in December signaled a turning point in the pandemic. By Feb. 2, more Americans had been vaccinated for COVID-19 than had been infected.
But as vaccination rates lagged over the summer, new surges of COVID-19 came. More than 80% of these cases by late July were caused by the Delta variant, which is more contagious than the original virus.
This has resulted in growing rates of community transmission and—especially in areas with lower vaccination rates—increasing rates of hospitalization and death.
The United States reached 684,360 COVID-19-related deaths and nearly 42.7 million COVID-19 cases as of Sep. 23, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Currently, 55% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. Epidemiologists say the lower the vaccination rate, the more the virus has the opportunity to continue to evolve and become more dangerous.
Stacker compiled a list of the counties with the lowest in-patient bed capacity in Rhode Island using data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Counties are ranked by the percent of in-patient hospital beds filled as of Sep. 20, with ICU availability serving as a tiebreaker.
Hospitalization data was available for about 77% of counties in the U.S. Keep reading to see what hospital capacity looks like in your county.
– Story and more data details continued below map –
Interactive Map: Counties with the lowest hospital bed capacity
#4. Washington County
- Inpatient beds occupied: 76.0% (4.0% by COVID-19 patients)
--- 12.6% more availability than Rhode Island overall - ICU beds occupied: 81.0% (13.0% by COVID-19 patients)
--- 5.8% more availability than Rhode Island overall - Cases per 100k in last 7 days: 181 (227 cases)
- Population that is fully vaccinated: 68.7% (86,306 fully vaccinated)
--- 2.2% higher vaccination rate than Rhode Island
#3. Providence County
- Inpatient beds occupied: 87.0% (4.0% by COVID-19 patients)
--- 0.0% more availability than Rhode Island overall - ICU beds occupied: 86.0% (14.0% by COVID-19 patients)
--- 0.0% more availability than Rhode Island overall - Cases per 100k in last 7 days: 208 (1,330 cases)
- Population that is fully vaccinated: 59.7% (381,607 fully vaccinated)
--- 11.2% lower vaccination rate than Rhode Island
#2. Newport County
- Inpatient beds occupied: 93.0% (2.0% by COVID-19 patients)
--- 6.9% more full than Rhode Island overall - ICU beds occupied: 80.0% (20.0% by COVID-19 patients)
--- 7.0% more availability than Rhode Island overall - Cases per 100k in last 7 days: 152 (125 cases)
- Population that is fully vaccinated: 68.6% (56,298 fully vaccinated)
--- 2.1% higher vaccination rate than Rhode Island
#1. Kent County
- Inpatient beds occupied: 96.0% (11.0% by COVID-19 patients)
--- 10.3% more full than Rhode Island overall - ICU beds occupied: 93.0% (24.0% by COVID-19 patients)
--- 8.1% more full than Rhode Island overall - Cases per 100k in last 7 days: 195 (321 cases)
- Population that is fully vaccinated: 68.0% (111,642 fully vaccinated)
--- 1.2% higher vaccination rate than Rhode Island
Note: Bristol County (no data, did not rank)
