Survey: Indiana ranks last in COVID-19 safety

A study released last week says that Indiana is the least safe state for COVID-19.

WalletHub compared 50 states and the District of Columbia and Indiana came in dead last. According to the survey, Indiana ranked 48th for vaccination rate, 49th for positivity testing rate, 46th for hospitalization rate, 45th for death rate and 31st for transmission rate.

According to the latest numbers from the Indiana State Department of Health, Indiana had 2,554 new positive cases with 18,842 new tests administered and a 13.5 percent positivity rate. Since the start of the pandemic, Indiana has had 17,853 deaths from COVID-19.

Bartholomew, Jackson and Jennings counties are all shown as red on the state’s color-coded spread map, indicating a severe spread of the disease. Brown, Johnson, Shelby and Decatur counties all remain orange, showing a serious spread.

Bartholomew County has 39 people hospitalized for COVID-19 according to the most recent numbers, down from 58 on Dec. 10th, this year’s high. 56 percent of Bartholomew County residents are fully vaccinated and about 20 percent have received a booster shot.

Bartholomew County has had 197 deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.