The pace of the spread of COVID-19 has slowed across America. Increases in daily fatal cases and confirmed cases are about half what they were seven weeks ago. Nevertheless, 534,746 Americans have died, which is about 20% of the world’s total. Confirmed cases have reached 29,465,761, or about 25% of the global number. As important as these statistics, hospitalizations have fallen below 50,000 for the first time since November.
The range of the severity of the disease by state and county varies considerably. In a very small number of the 3,143 U.S. counties and county equivalents, not a single person has died.
To some extent, the pace of the spread of the disease remains a race between vaccinations and the rising number of potentially dangerous variants. At this point, 19% of the adult population has received at least one dose of vaccine. Nearly 10% have received two shots. According to the COVID Data Tracker, 127,869,155 doses have been delivered in the United States and 95,721,290 doses have been administered.
Variants are among the dangers epidemiologist and public health officials worry about. At least one, first identified in the United Kingdom, could account for most new U.S. cases by the end of March. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently tracks three variants for the public. At this point, they are present in 49 states.
The number of counties where no one has died from COVID-19 has dropped to just 55. Only one has a population of over 10,000 people. San Juan County, Washington, has 16,473 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and 88% are white. The county covers an island northwest of Seattle, near the Canadian border. The median household income in the county is $63,622, slightly below the national figure. At 8.1%, the poverty rate is lower than the national number.
None of the counties without COVID-19 deaths has more than 1,000 cases of the disease. Two have less than 10. Loving County, Texas, with a population of 102, has only one case. An examination of the list shows most of the counties where no one has died are in rural states, particularly Alaska, Kansas and Nebraska.
These are the 55 counties where no one has died of COVID-19:
| County | State | Population | Cases | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan | Washington | 16,473 | 121 | 0 |
| Nome | Alaska | 9,925 | 329 | 0 |
| Sitka City | Alaska | 8,738 | 323 | 0 |
| San Miguel | Colorado | 7,968 | 829 | 0 |
| Anderson | Kansas | 7,852 | 818 | 0 |
| Lake | Colorado | 7,585 | 665 | 0 |
| Calhoun | West Virginia | 7,396 | 231 | 0 |
| Grand Isle | Vermont | 6,965 | 127 | 0 |
| Mitchell | Kansas | 6,222 | 559 | 0 |
| Ottawa | Kansas | 5,902 | 547 | 0 |
| Aleutians West | Alaska | 5,750 | 630 | 0 |
| Cook | Minnesota | 5,311 | 119 | 0 |
| Mineral | Montana | 4,211 | 235 | 0 |
| Wahkiakum | Washington | 4,189 | 100 | 0 |
| Osborne | Kansas | 3,603 | 287 | 0 |
| Harlan | Nebraska | 3,438 | 210 | 0 |
| Woodson | Kansas | 3,170 | 205 | 0 |
| Rush | Kansas | 3,102 | 425 | 0 |
| Sierra | California | 2,930 | 48 | 0 |
| Edwards | Kansas | 2,925 | 256 | 0 |
| Logan | Kansas | 2,810 | 293 | 0 |
| Hamilton | Kansas | 2,616 | 201 | 0 |
| Elk | Kansas | 2,562 | 176 | 0 |
| Haines | Alaska | 2,518 | 28 | 0 |
| Sheridan | Kansas | 2,506 | 428 | 0 |
| Wrangell City | Alaska | 2,484 | 31 | 0 |
| Denali | Alaska | 2,232 | 75 | 0 |
| Wichita | Kansas | 2,143 | 215 | 0 |
| Dolores | Colorado | 1,841 | 69 | 0 |
| Eureka | Nevada | 1,830 | 50 | 0 |
| Sherman | Oregon | 1,605 | 53 | 0 |
| Wallace | Kansas | 1,575 | 173 | 0 |
| Jackson | Colorado | 1,296 | 51 | 0 |
| Sioux | Nebraska | 1,266 | 36 | 0 |
| Greeley | Kansas | 1,200 | 101 | 0 |
| Alpine | California | 1,146 | 78 | 0 |
| Clark | Idaho | 1,077 | 54 | 0 |
| Skagway | Alaska | 1,061 | 20 | 0 |
| Esmeralda | Nevada | 981 | 37 | 0 |
| Billings | North Dakota | 946 | 53 | 0 |
| Hayes | Nebraska | 943 | 58 | 0 |
| Logan | Nebraska | 886 | 76 | 0 |
| Camas | Idaho | 886 | 70 | 0 |
| Hinsdale | Colorado | 878 | 17 | 0 |
| Wheeler | Nebraska | 822 | 36 | 0 |
| Keya Paha | Nebraska | 792 | 48 | 0 |
| Jones | South Dakota | 735 | 85 | 0 |
| Slope | North Dakota | 704 | 31 | 0 |
| Banner | Nebraska | 696 | 35 | 0 |
| Loup | Nebraska | 585 | 40 | 0 |
| San Juan | Colorado | 544 | 43 | 0 |
| Blaine | Nebraska | 480 | 20 | 0 |
| Harding | New Mexico | 459 | 8 | 0 |
| King | Texas | 228 | 11 | 0 |
| Loving | Texas | 102 | 1 | 0 |
Click here to read see which state has the fewest people vaccinated.
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