A pair of recent studies appear to show vaccine hesitancy in rural areas. The CDC reports vaccine coverage was lower in rural counties (38.9%) than in urban counties (45.7%). A similar poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found vaccine hesitancy was highest in rural counties with 21% of rural residents stating they would “definitely not” get a vaccine compared with 10% of urban residents.

And those statistics have some healthcare professionals concerned. Some researchers point to a perception of low risk of COVID-19 coupled with the perception of low risk for severe disease - particularly among young people - for fueling complacency. But OSF HealthCare Occupational Health physician Robert Ayers says he has seen perfectly healthy young people die from the infection.

Ayres fears a false sense of security could lead many unvaccinated people to be infected with the more easily spread variants, which could pose the risk of another surge that will overwhelm health care providers which he says could put us back into a world of mitigation and isolation being seen in other countries.