Report finds Georgia ranks 48th in U.S. for coronavirus support for at-risk groups

A new report says Georgia is among the worst states in the U.S. in protecting at-risk populations from COVID-19.

The personal finance website WalletHub sought to identify the states with the best support systems and most coronavirus support for at-risk people.

WalletHub’s analysis, released Tuesday, compared the 50 states and District of Columbia across three dimensions: coronavirus relief and medical services; food and housing assistance; and unemployment support.

Those dimensions were evaluated using 17 metrics, with each metric graded on a 100-point scale. WalletHub then determined each state and District of Columbia’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score.

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Georgia’s overall score of 20.28 ranked 48th among the 50 states and Washington. It ranked 45th in coronavirus relief and medical services, 43rd in food and housing assistance, and 41st in unemployment support.

North Carolina, Mississippi, Arizona and South Carolina also were in the bottom five. Massachusetts; Washington, D.C.; Rhode Island; Maine; and North Dakota offer the most COVID-19 support for those at risk.

WalletHub’s data set included factors such as whether a state will offer a free coronavirus vaccine once one exists and whether it has adopted long-distance health care technology. It also included metrics such as the coronavirus relief fund per capita and the share of households in poverty receiving social assistance.

Why it Matters: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is likely to go ahead with lifting Georgia’s shelter-in-place order today. This report, while it is simply an analysis of several factors, could indicate that the state is not prepared for a resurgence of COVID-19 infections once the state reopens and shelter-in-place expires.