In nearly every Rhode Island community, the overwhelming majority of senior citizens have received full doses of the Covid-19 vaccines. According to Rhode Island Department of Health data, more than half of Rhode Island municipalities have senior citizen vaccination rates above 95 percent, and Bristol is one of them, with 97 percent of its oldest residents (ages 65 and older) classified as “fully vaccinated.”

Yet the same is not true within all age groups. As the age ranges get younger, the vaccination rates within the Bristol population decline significantly.

In the next youngest group, ages 45 to 64, Bristol actually has one of the highest vaccination rates in the state. At 74 percent, it has the 11th-most vaccinated population of those considered middle-age.

Younger than that, however, the town’s rates decline sharply. Among those ages 25 to 44, only 56 percent of Bristol residents have been vaccinated — 27th lowest rate in Rhode Island. By contrast, 81 percent of Barrington residents within that age group have been vaccinated.

The state’s youngest group is for ages birth to 24. Because vaccines are not available to those under the age of 12, no community can have extremely high vaccination rates. Yet compared to its peers, Bristol is among the lowest in Rhode Island — 25 percent of the town’s youngest citizens have been vaccinated, placing the town 35th in the state. By contrast, more than 52 percent of Barrington residents ages birth to 24 have been fully vaccinated.

Examined as a whole, Bristol is among the least-vaccinated communities in Rhode Island. With 58.4 percent of residents vaccinated, Bristol is 27th out of 38 cities and towns in Rhode Island (Block Island was excluded from this analysis).

However, the town’s relatively low ranking has nothing to do with the older population. For those who are middle-age or elderly, Bristol has some of the highest vaccination rates anywhere. It has everything to do with the younger populations, where half or fewer of eligible residents have received a vaccine.

Vaccination Rankings – Bristol

Bristol has some of the highest — and some of the lowest — vaccination rates in Rhode Island. It depends on the age range.

• Ages 65+: 97% of Bristol residents vaccinated (17th in R.I.)
• Ages 45-64: 74% vaccinated (11th in R.I.)
• Ages 25-44: 56% vaccinated (27th in R.I.; highest is Jamestown at 84%)
• Ages birth-24: 25% vaccinated (35th in R.I.; highest is Barrington at 52%)