Texas Is One Of The Least Immunized and Vaccinated States
Lately there's been a lot of talk about flu season this year. A lot of experts are saying it'll be worse than it normally is, and they are also anticipating that COVID will be making a bit of a return during the season.
One of the big things that was pushed and talked about for awhile around it was vaccination from COVID. Now, I'm not here to argue for or against. I know plenty of people feel strongly for it and against it.
One of the things we know is that children have a tendency to received a lot of vaccinations early on in life. It's supposed to help their immune system and allow them to fight off those illnesses that can truly compromise them. Schools are big on having up to date shot records showing they've received vaccinations as well.
According to a study recently done by WalletHub, Texas is receiving a failing grade when it comes to being up to date with ALL vaccines, not just one in particular. Out of 51 places, Washington D.C. was included in the study, Texas checked in at number 45 as far as people that were up to date on their vaccinations.
The study was broken down into three different categories.
The first one was children and teenager immunization rates. We checked in at #39 on that list, meaning we are in the bottom third of having our children immunized against these illnesses and diseases. We also rank in the bottom five when it comes to teens being up to date on their HPV vaccinations at number 48.
It gets worse as we get to adult and elderly vaccination rates as we come in at our state ranking there at number 45.
One of the potential reasons for lack of vaccination and immunization is that Texas ranks DEAD LAST in its share of people without health insurance coverage. These shots are typically part of your normal checkups, but if you don't have health insurance, you probably aren't going to checkups when you're supposed to be.
Regardless of how you feel about vaccinations and immunizations, this is a concerning trend in the state and something we should probably look at fixing. Maybe they work, maybe they don't and I can understand stances against them. I just want to see a healthy and thriving Texas, and if these can help that, I'm all for it.