Alabama Ranks Near Bottom in U.S. Vaccination Study

Alabama ranks near the bottom of the country in a new study examining vaccination rates among children, teenagers, adults and older residents.

Personal-finance website WalletHub ranked Alabama 49th overall in its 2026 report on the states that vaccinate the most. The study compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 16 metrics related to immunization rates, health coverage and other factors influencing vaccine uptake.

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Alabama received an overall score of 34.43, placing ahead of only Oklahoma and Mississippi. Mississippi ranked last, while Vermont received the highest overall ranking.

The state ranked 43rd in the study’s children and teenagers immunization category, 50th for adult and elderly vaccination rates and 50th for immunization uptake disparities and influencing factors.

Several individual measurements contributed to Alabama’s overall placement. The state ranked 45th for influenza vaccination among children ages 6 months to 17 years and 48th for flu vaccination coverage among adults.

Alabama also ranked 49th for the share of adults age 60 and older with a shingles, or zoster, vaccination and 43rd for adult tetanus vaccination.

Among teenagers ages 13 to 17, Alabama ranked 32nd for up-to-date HPV vaccination and 38th for meningococcal ACWY vaccination.

The state performed better in one measurement involving younger children, ranking 25th for the share of children ages 19 to 35 months living in poverty who have received a combined seven-vaccine series.

WalletHub said its analysis was intended to identify where Americans have the greatest protection from vaccine-preventable diseases. The company cited World Health Organization estimates that vaccines prevent between 3.5 million and 5 million deaths worldwide each year.