Omicron hit rural America harder than cities

The omicron wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2021 and early 2022 spread rapidly America's densely populated cities, but led to higher rates of death in rural counties where vaccinations are lagging. Counties with vaccination rates of less than 40% had far higher mortality rates than counties with vaccination rates of 60% or more. The study recommended that health policymakers continue to make vaccination coverage a priority.