Study finds Kentucky near the bottom for vaccination rates

(The Center Square) – Kentucky is the third-least vaccinated state in the nation, according to a study released this week. However, a recently passed state law could help the state rise in future rankings.

WalletHub reviewed 16 vaccination-related metrics for young children, teens and adults using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kaiser Family Foundation and other sources to rank the states and District of Columbia. Only Alaska and Mississippi had lower rates of vaccination than the Bluegrass State.

In all, Kentucky ranked in the bottom 10 in seven of the categories. It ranked 50th, with just 35.8% of adults receiving the flu vaccine. However, most of the lower scores involved vaccination rates for kids.

The state had the sixth-lowest, or 46th overall, “combined 7” vaccination rate for children under 3. Only 62.9% received the series of shots that immunize kids from a series of diseases and illnesses, such as diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, polio and whooping cough. In addition, Kentucky ranked 45th for flu vaccines among kids between 6 months and 17 years of age (47.1%), 13-to-17-year-olds with up-to-date HPV vaccinations (55%) and 13-to-17-year-olds with Tdap vaccines. The study found that only 86.4% of teens received the latter vaccination, which prevents the spread of diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough.

WalletHub also found that Kentucky’s vaccination rate for children under 3 fell by 15.1% from 2017 to 2022. That also ranked 45th nationally. Indiana, meanwhile, saw vaccinations rise in the same age group by 28.3%, the highest rise over that timeframe.

Part of the issue in Kentucky may be tied to access to medical care. According to the American Board of Pediatrics, general practice pediatricians are available in just 69 of the state’s 120 counties.

To help improve access, the General Assembly passed House Bill 274 earlier this year. State Rep. Danny Bentley, R-Russell, sponsored the bipartisan bill that allows pharmacists to vaccinate children as young as 5 years old.

“This is about access to care and keeping Kentuckians healthy with the voluntary use of tested and proven vaccines. We’ve got counties without a pediatrician, while pharmacists are more readily available.” Said Bentley, a pharmacist. “HB 274 does not mandate vaccination, but it does make these common immunizations more accessible to parents who make that decision by lowering the minimum age under state law to 5 years of age. We know it is safe. We know it is effective.”

Kentucky’s neighboring states finished in the middle of the pack, with Ohio at the top regionally at No. 15, Virginia was 18th, Indiana 24th, Illinois 25th, Tennessee 31st and West Virginia 39th.

New England states led the way in the WalletHub study, with Rhode Island as the No. 1 state, followed by Massachusetts and Maine.