Because so many Republicans remain unvaccinated, the partisan gap in Covid’s toll has continued to widen over the past year.
NY Times Research, Released March 11th
Let’s start with this germy reality. Infections can spread quickly when large segments of the population don’t believe in taking clear and definitive medical preventative measures. With antivaxxers and GOP-proselytizers telling us of the “dangers from the vaccines” (which were always minimal compared to an actual COVID infection) and the damage to the economy from social distancing and lockdowns, it’s no surprise that those living in red states were infected and died significantly more than those living in blue states. As illustrated by a study by Jacob Wallace, PhD, Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham, PhD and Jason L. Schwartz, PhD, reported in the July 23, 2023 Journal of the American Medical Association points out based on a statistical study in Ohio and Florida:
“[The] excess death rate among Republican voters was 43% higher than the excess death rate among Democratic voters. The gap in excess death rates between Republican and Democratic voters was larger in counties with lower vaccination rates and was primarily noted in voters residing in Ohio…. In this cross-sectional study, an association was observed between political party affiliation and excess deaths in Ohio and Florida after COVID-19 vaccines were available to all adults. These findings suggest that differences in vaccination attitudes and reported uptake between Republican and Democratic voters may have been factors in the severity and trajectory of the pandemic in the US.” In short, reluctance to get vaccinated, practice social distancing and accepting lockdowns made a horrible disease so much worse, ensuring that enough people remained unvaccinated to spread the pandemic farther, wider and longer… across the entire US.
But the United States is rich nation, with more than enough government supplied vaccines and a sophisticated national medical infrastructure. For poorer nations, unable to get those vaccines, those living in communities with lots of interpersonal contact… they just died or got horribly ill with no real treatment options. But vaccine skepticism and a political mandate against social distancing in MAGA-land, as the above NY Times quote suggests, not only is COVID still here, somewhat diluted, it continues to infect and kill disproportionately in MAGA-dominated states.
For those willing to rewrite history, the danger was always exaggerated, but…: “Covid’s confirmed death toll — more than seven million people worldwide — is horrific on its own, and the true toll is much worse. The Economist magazine keeps a running estimate of excess deaths, defined as the number of deaths above what was expected from pre-Covid trends. The global total is approaching 30 million.
“This number includes both confirmed Covid deaths and undiagnosed ones, which have been common in poorer countries. It includes deaths caused by pandemic disruptions, such as missed doctor appointments that might have prevented other diseases. The isolation of the pandemic also caused a surge of social ills in the U.S., including increases in deaths from alcohol, drugs, vehicle crashes and murders.” The Morning from the March 11th New York Times.
That rising reluctance to vaccinate has migrated into a general notion. Many parents facing critical school-driven vaccination requirements often exert a “soft refusal” by opting to delay the vaccination decision. For young children entering school for the first time, unvaccinated children endanger their entire class. Jenny Gold, writing for the March 11th Los Angeles Times: “As measles cases pop up across the country this winter — including several in California — one group of children is stirring deep concerns among pediatricians: the babies and toddlers of vaccine-hesitant parents who are delaying their child’s measles-mumps-rubella [MMR] shots.
“Pediatricians across the state say they have seen a sharp increase recently in the number of parents with concerns about routine childhood vaccinations who are demanding their own inoculation schedules for their babies, creating a worrisome pool of very young children who may be at risk of contracting measles, a potentially deadly yet preventable disease.
“‘Especially early on, when a parent is already feeling really vulnerable and doesn’t want to give something to their beautiful baby who was just born if they don’t need it, it makes them think, ‘Maybe I’ll just delay it and wait and see,’ ’ said Dr. Whitney Casares, a pediatrician and author who has written on vaccination for the American Academy of Pediatrics. ‘What they don’t realize is if they don’t vaccinate according to the recommended schedule, that can really set their child up for a whole lot of risks.’…
“‘The pendulum swung back the other way, and we had a few years where vaccination rates were really high,’ said [California pediatrician, Dr. Eric] Ball. But the rumors and rhetoric surrounding the COVID vaccines have caused the pendulum to swing in the other direction. ‘We’re back to dealing with conspiracy theories, things that people heard on the internet, or something that their cousin’s neighbor’s roommate said. It’s really hard.’…
“A Pew Research poll conducted in March 2023 found that 88% of Americans are confident that the benefits of an MMR vaccine outweigh the risks, a percentage that has remained fairly consistent since before the pandemic… But support for all school-based vaccine mandates has fallen; 28% now say that parents should be able to decide not to vaccinate their children, even if it causes health risks for others, up from 16% in October 2019. Among Republicans, the share has more than doubled, from 20% in 2019 to 42% in 2023.” Once again, the recent outbreak of measles is significantly higher in vaccine-averse red state Florida than in blue California.
I’m Peter Dekom, and I suspect we should list medical science skeptics as a leading cause of infection and death of easily preventable diseases.
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