Health and Healthcare
COVID-19: The Only American Counties Where No One Has Died
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The pace of the spread of COVID-19 has slowed across America. Increases in daily fatal cases and confirmed cases are about half what they were three months ago. Nevertheless, 558,213 Americans have died, which is about 20% of the world’s total. Confirmed cases have reached 30,731,414, or about 25% of the global number. And, in the last two weeks, cases have picked up again, threatening a “fourth wave” of the pandemic.
The range of the severity of the disease by state and county varies considerably. In a very small number of the 3,143 U.S. counties and county-equivalents, not a single person has died.
To some extent, the pace of the spread of the disease remains a race between vaccinations and the rising number of potentially dangerous variants. At this point, 30% of the adult population has received at least one dose of vaccine, and 17% are fully vaccinated. While the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two shots, the one from Johnson & Johnson requires only one. According to the COVID Data Tracker, 200,496,635 doses have been delivered in the United States and 153,631,404 doses have been administered.
Variants are among the dangers epidemiologist and public health officials worry about. At least one, first identified in the United Kingdom, could account for most new U.S. cases by the end of March. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently tracks three variants for the public. They have been found in all 50 states, and a number of other variants have emerged that the CDC does not report on to the public.
The number of counties where no one has died from COVID-19 has dropped to just 47. Only two have populations of over 10,000 people. San Juan County, Washington, has 16,473 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and 88% are white. The county covers an island northwest of Seattle, near the Canadian border. The median household income in the county is $63,622, slightly below the national figure. The 8.1% poverty rate is lower than the national number. Dukes County, Massachusetts has a population of 17,313. It covers 11 islands off the coast of the state, the largest of which is Martha’s Vineyard.
Only three counties have fewer than 10 confirmed cases. Harding County, New Mexico, has nine. Loving County, Texas, and Kalawao County, Hawaii, each has one. The figures are as of March 31.
The list of counties with no coronavirus deaths continues to shrink fairly rapidly, which begs the question of whether anyplace will be untouched by at least one such death before the disease is brought under control.
Counties Where No One Has Died of COVID-19
| County | Population | Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Dukes, Massachusetts | 17,313 | 944 |
| San Juan, Washington | 16,473 | 128 |
| Nome, Alaska | 9,925 | 336 |
| Sitka, Alaska | 8,738 | 329 |
| San Miguel, Colorado | 7,968 | 848 |
| Lake, Colorado | 7,585 | 697 |
| Calhoun, West Virginia | 7,396 | 242 |
| Aleutians West, Alaska | 5,750 | 652 |
| Cook, Minnesota | 5,311 | 137 |
| Mineral, Montana | 4,211 | 249 |
| Wahkiakum, Washington | 4,189 | 101 |
| Harlan, Nebraska | 3,438 | 215 |
| Sierra, California | 2,930 | 104 |
| Wayne, Utah | 2,694 | 126 |
| Haines, Alaska | 2,518 | 29 |
| Wrangell, Alaska | 2,484 | 33 |
| Rich, Utah | 2,350 | 140 |
| Denali, Alaska | 2,232 | 86 |
| Dolores, Colorado | 1,841 | 67 |
| Eureka, Nevada | 1,830 | 50 |
| Sherman, Oregon | 1,605 | 53 |
| Bristol Bay, Lake, Peninsula Boroughs, Alaska | 2,265 | 185 |
| Jackson, Colorado | 1,296 | 52 |
| Sioux, Nebraska | 1,266 | 36 |
| Alpine, California | 1,146 | 88 |
| Clark, Idaho | 1,077 | 56 |
| Skagway Municipality, Alaska | 1,061 | 20 |
| Esmeralda, Nevada | 981 | 38 |
| Billings, North Dakota | 946 | 53 |
| Hayes, Nebraska | 943 | 57 |
| Bristol Bay, Alaska | 890 | 76 |
| Camas, Idaho | 886 | 71 |
| Logan, Nebraska | 886 | 79 |
| Hinsdale, Colorado | 878 | 17 |
| Wheeler, Nebraska | 822 | 38 |
| Keya Paha, Nebraska | 792 | 51 |
| Jones, South Dakota | 735 | 91 |
| Slope, North Dakota | 704 | 32 |
| Banner, Nebraska | 696 | 35 |
| Daggett, Utah | 612 | 37 |
| Loup, Nebraska | 585 | 40 |
| San Juan, Colorado | 544 | 44 |
| Blaine, Nebraska | 480 | 20 |
| Harding, New Mexico | 459 | 9 |
| King, Texas | 228 | 11 |
| Loving, Texas | 102 | 1 |
| Kalawao, Hawaii | 75 | 1 |
Click here to read about America’s worst COVID-19 hotspot.
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