COVID calculator: Quiz tells you when you can get the vaccine

COVID calculator: Quiz tells you when you can get the vaccine
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The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the U.S. hasn’t exactly been going according to plan. Despite plans for 20 million vaccines by the end of 2020, only 5.3 million doses of the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have been administered. Healthcare workers and residents and employees of long-term care facilities are first in line.

Scammers started taking advantage of the vaccine as soon as details first came out. In the coming months, you can expect even more scams and conspiracy theories. Tap or click here to see vaccine hoaxes spreading right now.

If you’re wondering when you can get the vaccine, we found a quiz you need to check out. It’ll show you where you are in line based on where you live.

See how many people will be vaccinated before you

When you receive the vaccine depends on several factors: Where you live, your age, your occupation and your living situation among them. Here’s the CDC’s recommendation on the initial groups that should be vaccinated.

  • Phase 1a: Healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents.
  • Phase 1b: People 75 and older, along with frontline essential workers, including firefighters, police officers, corrections officers, food and agricultural workers, United States Postal Service workers, manufacturing workers, grocery store workers, public transit workers, and educators (teachers, support staff and daycare workers.)
  • Phase 1c: People 65 to 74 years old, people 16 to 64 with underlying medical conditions and other essential workers, including people who work in transportation and logistics, food service, housing construction and finance, information technology, communications, energy, law, media, public safety and public health.

Timelines will depend on how many doses your state has and the logistics behind delivering those doses. The question right now is, where do you stand in line in your state?

This quick quiz will give you a much clearer picture of your spot. Input your state, county, industry, age, medical conditions and living situation. Right away, you’ll find out if you’re in a group eligible for early vaccination.

Keep in mind, these are figures are based on population estimates. The data used to calculate is from the Vaccine Allocation Planner tool developed by Ariadne Labs and the Surgo Foundation.

Track your state’s vaccine progress

The biggest factor in when you can expect to be vaccinated is how many doses come to your state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed an interactive map through which you can track the distribution and vaccination progress of your state.

The CDC COVID Data Tracker displays the total amount of doses distributed and the number of people who have initiated the vaccine process. It also shows the number of doses distributed to long-term care facilities and the number of people in those facilities who have received the first dose.

By hovering your mouse cursor over any state, you will see the relevant details for distribution and vaccination.

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Changing the metrics, you can toggle between distribution/vaccination count or the rate per 100,000. The map is also color-coded with shades ranging from white to blue. The darker the state, the more doses have been administered.

California is currently leading the race, as it has already provided 457,000 people with the first dose. That roughly equates to 1,150 people per 100,000 population. Texas is also making headway, reaching 1,556 people per 100,000, totaling 451,000 vaccines.

The slowest in providing the vaccine according to the map is Wyoming, the least densely populated state. That could explain why only 7,650 people received the first dose. In terms of per capita, though, it has a higher rate than California with 1,322 people per 100,000.

Only four states have vaccinated more than 200,000 people, and 10 states reached 100,000. The leading federal healthcare entity is the Veterans Health Administration — responsible for 119,000 vaccinations.

County view metrics

You can track the number of reported cases, tests and deaths on a county level on the same website. By clicking on the County View tab to the right of the Vaccination Tracker, you can see the relevant statistics.

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According to the map, between Dec. 28, 2020 and Jan. 3, 2021, southern California has seen the most cases.

San Diego County was a 55% increase in the number of deaths, while cases increased by 15%. Riverside County saw 156 deaths during the same period, an increase of just over 80%.

The map also shows that Maricopa County in Arizona has one of the highest COVID-related death rates. In the last 12 months, it has seen 332 deaths and 40,287 cases. That’s about 900 infections per 100,000 people.

Tags: California, CDC, Conspiracy theories, COVID-19, healthcare workers, Moderna, online game, Pfizer, quiz, scams, Texas, vaccination