ATLANTA — People in rural communities are dying of COVID-19 at nearly twice the rate of people in metropolitan areas of the U.S., new research shows.
Data from the Rural Policy Research Institute showed that about 1 in 434 rural Americans have died of COVID-19, compared to roughly 1 in 513 urban Americans.
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In most of Georgia, those rates are significantly higher in rural counties, where more like 1 in 250 people have died of the virus. In 20 Georgia counties, more than 1 in 200 people have died of the virus, compared to 1 in 350 statewide.
[RELATED: North Georgia county being hit hard as 1 in 200 people die from COVID-19]
The hardest-hit county in Georgia is Hancock, where Sparta is the county seat. The central Georgia county has around 8,700 people. Since March of 2020, 71 people have died of the virus, the equivalent of 1 in 113 people.
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In Candler County, where Metter is the county seat, 1 in 135 people have died of COVID-19. Candler County has just over 10,000 people and has seen 47 COVID-19 deaths.
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Only 54.7% of Georgians have gotten one dose of the vaccine. Around 41% of rural America was vaccinated by late Sept. compared to 53% of urban America, according to an analysis by The Daily Yonder, which covers rural America. In some Georgia counties, just 21% of the population has had at least one COVID-19 dose.
Data analyzed by the Daily Yonder does show that vaccinations are accelerating in rural America, though vaccination rates in the majority of Georgia counties remain below or way below the national average.
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