Michigan's COVID-19 Response Ranks 26th In Nation: Report

MICHIGAN — Michigan is ranked 26th in the U.S. for its pandemic response, according to a recently released report by the UC-Berkeley's Othering and Belonging Institute.

The study broke down the performance of all 50 states and 172 countries based on their rates of infection, hospitalization and death. States that fared well in those categories scored well in the study, while those that did not address those concerns well in the latter half of the rankings.

The institute released a news release submitting that the three categories provide the most objective breakdown regarding the effectiveness local health departments have had in responding to the pandemic.

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"The most effective states appeared to be those that carried out strong public health measures grounded in science," Elsadig Elsheikh, co-author of the 2020 Inclusiveness Index, an annual report published by the Othering & Belonging Institute, said in the release.

States that were aggressive in implementing mask mandates and orders relating to social distancing fared better than those that did not, the institute found in its report.

The metrics measure how governments protected and accommodated the needs of marginalized populations as well, according to the institute.

"The Covid-19 pandemic produced stark disparities by race, age and other demographics that reminded us of the vulnerability of certain marginalized communities as well as inequalities in health care access and policy. Our Covid Index and analysis confronts this reality," co-author Stephen Menendian said in the news release.

The top-three states in the institute's study were Vermont, Alaska and Maine.

The U.S. ranked 161st out of 172 countries, while the United Arab Emirates, Denmark and Iceland ranked atop the national rankings.