Of the 50 counties with the highest COVID death rates, half are within 40 miles of a hospital that has recently closed. Nearly all were rural. : UnpopularFacts

Rural hospital closures have been accelerating, with 181 since 2005 — and over half of those happening since 2015, according to data from the University of North Carolina. But that may be just the beginning. Over 450 rural hospitals are at risk of closure, according to an analysis by the Chartis Group, one of the nation’s largest independent health care advisory firms.

Those closures caused shortages of beds, ventilators and medical staff, and left behind patients with high and rising levels of diabetes and hypertension. Now, those communities often also have high rates of unvaccinated people — and that may well be related: In the communities where health resources disappear, so too does confidence in the medical system. Trusted sources of information go elsewhere.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/19/covid-closed-rural-hospitals-tennessee-deaths-anti-vax-conspiracies-00018204