The Homa Files

Answer: It received disproportionately more vaccine than other states … and it used what it go much more efficiently
=============

When it comes to vaccinating, West Virginia (WV) has been outperforming other states.

For example …

Before the end of December, all WV’s sweep of nursing homes and long-term care facilities was complete.

Currently, over 10% of WV’s residents have gotten at least 1 dose of vaccine

Why has WV been so successful up to now, while other states (e.g. my home state Maryland) are lagging?

In prior posts, we broached the question:

Why is West Virginia outperforming Maryland?

Starting with this post, we’re going to drill down a bit deeper on WV’s performance factors.

===============

Today, let’s take a look from 50,000 feet …

Simply put, WV’s performance (and, more broadly, that of any state) is the joint effect of 2 overall factors: the relative amount of scarce vaccine that the state receives … and, the state’s efficiency in utilizing the supply that it does get.

=============

To get an overview, we sorted states into the consultant’s analytical weapon of choice — 2 dimensional matrix (below):

> On the vertical axis (the rows), the states are sorted by the relative per capita supply of vaccine that they’ve received from the Feds … whether they have received an average amount, at least 5% more than the average or greater than 5% less than the average.

Supply is, by and large, an exogenous variable.  That is, other than by whining & complaining to the Feds, it’s not under the states’ control.

> On the horizontal axis (the columns) states are categorized based on the percentage of the vaccine that they’ve been allotted that they’ve utilized (i.e. that has been administered in vaccinations).

The utilization percentage is a summary measure of the state’s utilization efficiency.  In later posts, we’ll explore factors that drive the utilization percentage.

Here’s the way states sort out (as of Jan. 30) …

==============

In general, states that have received  more than their ‘fair share’ of vaccine doses are sorted high on the matrix … and, vice versa, those that have received less than their ‘fair share’ of vaccine doses are sorted low on the matrix.

States utilizing a high percentage of their vaccine allotments are sorted to the right; states utilizing a low percentage of their vaccine allotments are sorted to the left.

=============

Note that WV is in the upper right-hand box.

It’s in the top row,  reflecting that the state has received about 17,000 doses of vaccine for each 100,000 WV residents — which is 15% higher than the per capita average receipts for all states.

And, it’s in the right-hand column since its 87% vaccine utilization percentage is sky-high in the top-third of all states’ performance.

Bottom line: WV is benefiting from generous allotments of vaccine … but, it’s largely creating its own success by getting shots into arms.

=============

In comparison, note that Alabama is in the bottom left-hand box … reflecting that the state has received about 13,500 doses of vaccine for each 100,000 AL residents — which is 9% lower than the per capita average receipts for all states.

And, it’s in the left-hand column since its 49% vaccine utilization percentage is lowest among all states.

=============

You can find your state in the matrix to get a sense as to whether it’s getting its ‘fair shar’ of vaccine from the Feds … and whether it’s efficiently utilizing the inventory of doses that it gets.

==============

For scoring data, see VAX: States’ Performance Rankings  and Not all states are getting their ‘fair share’ of vaccine.

This entry was posted on February 2, 2021 at 10:00 am and is filed under COVID - vaccine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.