Vaccinations are known to be an important tool in the fight against COVID-19. But vaccination uptake has been very uneven across the U.S.; and, the summer 2021 surge in new COVID-19 cases has also been uneven across the country. Data on confirmed COVID-19 cases for the week of August 29, 2021 – September 4, 2021 is compared to vaccination data as of August 15, 2021 (two weeks prior to the start of the case data period) were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. For the purposes of this report, county vaccination rates are based on the percentage of the total population aged 12 years and older that have received at least one vaccination dose (regardless of manufacturer).

Overall, the COVID-19 vaccination rate (percent of the population 12 years and older that received at least one vaccination dose) was lower in nonmetropolitan counties than in metropolitan counties. The rate of new confirmed cases was lower where the vaccination rate was higher than the national county median, regardless of metropolitan/nonmetropolitan status. There was substantial variation in case and vaccination rates across Census regions. Median county case rates overall and by metropolitan/nonmetropolitan status are lowest in the northeast states and highest in south states. Median county vaccination rates overall and by metropolitan/nonmetropolitan status are highest in the northeast states and lowest in south states.