Special Report

This Is the County in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metro Area with the Most Deaths from COVID-19

Samuel Stebbins

Published: July 22, 2022 5:00 am

More than 1 million Americans have died from COVID-19 – more than the total number of Americans killed in World War I and World War II combined.

In the Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area, which covers parts of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio, a total of 1,382 deaths have been attributed to the virus, equal to 386 fatalities for every 100,000 people. Nationwide, 310 deaths have been attributed to the virus per 100,000 people.

The higher than average per capita COVID-19 death rate across the metro area is being driven by one area in particular.

The broader Huntington metro area comprises seven counties or county equivalents — and of them, Lawrence County has had the most COVID-19 fatalities per capita. So far, the per capita coronavirus death rate in Lawrence County stands at 429 for every 100,000 people.

Though it has the highest per capita death rate in the Huntington-Ashland metro area, Lawrence County ranks among the middle 50% of all U.S. counties or county equivalents by COVID-19 death rate per capita.

All COVID-19 data used in this story are current as of July 19, 2022.

These are all the counties in West Virginia where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).