Some of the most vaccine-resistant parts of the U.S. are now leading the country in the number of people getting a first dose of vaccine, a Bloomberg analysis shows, as surging infections and rising hospitalizations push formerly reluctant Americans to protect themselves.
The increase in vaccinations is concentrated in the Southern and Central parts of the U.S., with the highest daily rate of shots happening in places like Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri — states that have had some of the lowest rates of vaccination in the eight months since vaccines became available.
Those places, along with hot spots including California and Florida, are also where a new wave of Covid cases is hitting hardest, driven by the highly contagious delta variant, and where local health officials have been pulling out all the stops to try to catch up on vaccinations.
