Study shows county-level data on pandemic preparedness

The covid-19 pandemic "could take a crushing toll on rural areas that are less prepared than many of their urban counterparts," reports Stat, the medicine-and-science publication of The Boston Globe.

Andrew Joseph reports on a newly published data project, produced by a collaboration among Stat, the Center on Rural Innovation, and Applied XL. The data show county-level pandemic preparedness across the nation according to five variables: the number of licensed hospital beds within a 40-minute drive; the number of critical care staff within a 40-minute drive; the percentage of the population age 65 and older; ICU bed shortage estimates from the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's covid-19 model; and the county's score on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Social Vulnerability Index, which measures resiliency to outbreaks and disasters based on factors such as poverty, transportation access, and housing.

Big cities account for most covid-19 cases, but the infection rate is slightly higher in rural counties as of April 14, The Daily Yonder reports.

Some rural areas are less equipped to handle the pandemic than others, including parts of the Deep South and West. Though some urban areas scored poorly on the preparedness scale and some rural areas scored well, rural areas are overall more vulnerable because they have older populations, higher rates of underlying medical problems, and less access to health care, Joseph reports.

"Long distances to hospitals and labs can spell the difference between life and death with an unpredictable disease that can rapidly turn critical. Rural grocery stores, pharmacies and even hospitals are last in line for supplies that chains and big box stores have special access to," Eric Scigliano reports for Politico.

Rural hospitals, already financially troubled before the pandemic, are particularly vulnerable right now. "Before, if a local disaster or disease outbreak overwhelmed their resources, they could turn to neighbors and big-city medical centers for relief. Now, they find themselves competing, at a disadvantage, with their larger counterparts for scarce test kits and protective gear," Scigliano reports.