by Paul Ricci
Before I profiled the 100 least healthy and the 100 most healthy zip codes in Pennsylvania. However, there is more to the Alleghenies than just Pennsylvania. It covers the southwestern tier counties of New York state, the western counties of Maryland, almost the whole state of West Virginia and the bordering western counties of Virginia. The word Allegheny is spelled differently in different states. Alleghany in Virginia, Allegany in New York and Maryland and of course Allegheny in Pennsylvania. This covers 2,122 zip codes out of 7,138 zip codes or 29.7% of the zip codes. This post will focus on DPT (Diphtheria, Pertussis (whooping cough) and Tetanus) vaccine coverage in the Alleghenies.
The above graph shows that while the average value of DPT coverage is similar for Allegheny zip codes and for zip codes outside of the Alleghenies, there is a large cluster (722) zip codes with low coverage at 82% of children receiving the shot in the Alleghenies. The are also higher mortality rates in the Alleghenies as can be seen in the plot below. Many of the extreme values in the Alleghenies are in West Virginia.
I focused on the DPT vaccine coverage because it is the only vaccine variable in the HRSA database. Also like the measles vaccine (it is part of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine) it is given to children. When I posted on measles outbreak numbers there were 540 cases in Pennsylvania. As of today, Sept 9, 2026, there are 624 cases in the state. The county distribution can be seen in the map below.
The above shows how measles is spreading in the state. There is a rise in cases in Somerset and Indiana Counties with small numbers of new cases throughout the Alleghenies. Get the vaccine.
