Despite the naysayers, the Republican-led state of South Dakota has become an exemplar for coronavirus vaccine administration, the Washington Examiner reports.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released data showing that South Dakota has been one of the most successful states at administering its allotment of coronavirus vaccines.
The numbers
The CDC Covid Data Tracker currently lists South Dakota as having administered 57,103 doses of the vaccine, or 6,455 doses per 100,000 people. This means that South Dakota has been one of the three most efficient states in administering the vaccine.
The other two are North Dakota and West Virginia. North Dakota has administered 46,410 doses or 6,090 doses per 100,000 people. And, West Virginia leads all, having administered 134,207 doses or 7,489 doses per 100,000 people.
To provide some perspective, New York’s coronavirus vaccine distribution rate is 3,894 per 100,000, Illinois’ is 2,716 per 100,000, and California’s is 2,716 per 100,000.
Overall, the CDC Covid Data Tracker appears to show a red-blue divide with red states like North Dakota, West Virginia, and South Dakota doing a far better job at administering the coronavirus vaccine than their blue-state counterparts.
The South Dakota case study
The Washington Examiner focused on South Dakota partly because, with pro-Trump Gov. Kristi Noem (R) at the helm, it has been one of the most heavily criticized states for its handling of the coronavirus. In contrast to the likes of California and New York, Noem made a promise to keep South Dakota open and free, and she has stood by that promise.
“I took an oath when I was in Congress, obviously, to uphold the constitution of the United States,” Noem said back in April. “I believe in our freedoms and liberties. What I’ve seen across the country is so many people give up their liberties for just a little bit of security, and they don’t have to do that.”
Detractors blame South Dakota’s fatality rate, which at one point was 1 per every 19,000, on Noem’s lack of coronavirus restrictions. Now, however, South Dakota’s case and fatality rates have been significantly dropping, and the state is one of the leaders in vaccine administration.
One South Dakota official suggested to the Examiner that the reason South Dakota is doing so well in terms of vaccine administration is that it doesn’t “have the same kind of bureaucracy” as some of the big, Democrat-run states.
You be the judge
While life seems to be improving in South Dakota, blue states like California and New York continue to struggle with the coronavirus, despite their Democrat governors’ heavy-handed restrictions. Both states are still among the leaders in terms of coronavirus cases and deaths, and they are towards the back of the pack when it comes to distributing the vaccines. In particular, California, led by Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, has “one of the nation’s worst vaccine roll-outs,” leftist outlet Vox reports.
Is it simply a case of good versus bad management? You be the judge.