More than 300 rural Oklahomans have died from the coronavirus since the first of the year, as the gap between rural and urban deaths from the virus continues to widen.
About 40% of deaths from COVID-19 in January in Oklahoma have been in rural areas. The Oklahoma State University Center for Rural Health says this is a record for the pandemic.
As of January 27th, 97 of every 100,000 rural Oklahomans are dying from the coronavirus compared to 80 per 100,000 in cities.
A Kaiser Family Foundation survey shows rural residents are one of the groups most hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Twenty-one percent of rural residents surveyed said they would definitely not get it and another eight percent said they would only get it if required. The only group more hesitant to get the vaccine are Republicans.
About one third of Oklahomans live in rural areas.
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