Virginia is most prepared for a public health disaster, says report

Virginia, Connecticut, and Colorado are the three states that are most prepared for public health and natural disasters, according to a new study by QuoteWizard, an online insurance marketplace.

The report evaluated six factors from Trust for America’s Health report, “Ready or Not: Protecting the Public’s Health From Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism,” to determine how prepared a state is for public health and natural disasters. It ranked the states based on those factors.

The top 10 in ascending order are Virginia, Connecticut, Colorado, Vermont, Washington, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Oregon, Minnesota, and Nevada.

The 10 least prepares states in descending order are South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, New Hampshire, New York, Indiana, Arizona, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Wyoming.

A state’s overall preparedness in response to a public health and natural disaster is a critical factor in saving lives and reducing economic losses. Response times and containment efforts minimize the impact on individuals’ physical and financial health.

The report says that one of the biggest economic impacts related to the coronavirus pandemic is the lack of paid time off and uninsured people.

Natural disasters have increased by 165 percent in the United States over the last 40 years, according to the report. Pandemics could have a $6 trillion dollar impact on the global economy in the 21st century, it states, citing research from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. The CDC estimates that a global disease outbreak could cost the United States billions in lost trade and tourism.

Visit https://quotewizard.com/news/posts/states-prepared-for-health-and-natural-disasters for the full report and the complete listings.