Biden Counties Continue to Have Higher Vaccination Rates Compared to Trump Counties, As the Omicron Variant Surges Across the U.S.

An updated KFF analysis finds that counties that voted for Biden continue to have higher COVID-19 vaccination rates than counties that voted for Trump. As of Jan. 11, 65% of people in Biden counties were fully vaccinated versus 52% of people in Trump counties. Even with the proliferation of the Omicron variant nationwide, the gap between Biden and Trump counties has widened from 9 percentage points in June to 13.2 percentage points currently.

There is currently no gap between Biden and Trump counties in the proportion of those who are fully vaccinated and have received booster doses. However, because of the underlying gap in vaccination coverage, there is also a gap in the proportion of those who are reinforced in the two groups, and this gap has widened over time.

Vaccines and boosters have been shown to be effective against COVID-19, including the Delta and Omicron variants. As hospitalization rates rise, the unvaccinated remain at higher risk for more severe COVID-19 disease.