The politics of COVID-19

This thread seeks to examine why Republican and Democrats differ so much on their vaccination status. It will be hopefully discussing various differences between the two parties and trying to identify reasons behind it. There is definitely a marked difference in numerous key ways that suggest a disparity between predominantly red and blue states. This is not a generic discussion for the efficacy of vaccines. Nor is it a discussion on how effective face masks are or social distancing.

Here is one link of many that looks at this in more depth and lists some of these key points:
The politics of COVID-19: Differences between U.S. red and blue states in COVID-19 regulations and deaths - ScienceDirect
"Highlights

• Political party-affiliation has shaped response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Red states had higher COVID-19 infection rates and deaths in 2021 compared to blue states.
• Red states implemented fewer political decisions to mitigate COVID-19 than blue states.
• Biological factors such as age and obesity predicted deaths only in red states.
• Vaccination rates predicted fewer deaths in blue states."

 

This next article explains how leaders shaped the narrative:
Partisanship and the Pandemic: How and Why Americans Followed Party Cues on COVID-19 | Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law | Duke University Press (dukeupress.edu)
"The United States underperformed its potential in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors use original survey data from April 2020 to March 2022 to show that political partisanship may have contributed to this inconsistent response by distinguishing elites and citizens who took the crisis seriously from those who did not. This division was not inevitable; when the crisis began, Democrats and Republicans differed little in their viewpoints and actions relative to COVID-19. However, partisans increasingly diverged when their preferred political leaders provided them with opposing cues. The authors outline developments in party politics over the last half century that contributed to partisan division on COVID-19, most centrally an anti-expertise bias among Republicans. Accordingly, Republicans’ support for mitigation measures, perception of severity of COVID-19, and support for vaccines gradually decreased after the initial outbreak. Partisan differences also showed up at the state level; Trump's vote share in 2016 was negatively associated with mask use and positively associated with COVID-19 infections."

Is it actually the case that somewhere along the line, American Republicans got fed disinformation that created such diverse views on vaccinations and other safeguards?

 

A New York Times article picked up on the enormous variance between traditional Red and Blue states as to their vaccination uptake. As it is behind a paid firewall (for some), here is the CNN report of the article:

We’ve reached the ‘Red Covid’ phase of the pandemic | CNN Politics
"Dubbing it “Red Covid,” The New York Times’ David Leonhardt writes:

“The political divide over vaccinations is so large that almost every reliably blue state now has a higher vaccination rate than almost every reliably red state. … Because the vaccines are so effective at preventing serious illness, Covid deaths are also showing a partisan pattern. Covid is still a national crisis, but the worst forms of it are increasingly concentrated in red America.”

New data from Gallup provides stark numbers to back up Leonhardt’s claim. More than 9 in 10 self-identified Democrats (92%) report that they have had at least one dose of one of the three vaccines for Covid-19. That number among Republicans? Just 56%.

That’s a stunning data point that tells a very clear story: there are Republicans who are getting seriously ill – and even dying – as some sort of distorted political stance."
______________________________________

That was then, but has it changed?


Impact of Political Leaning on COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: A Network-Based Multiple Mediation Analysis - PMC (nih.gov)
"Despite controlling for alternative explanations of hesitancy, there was a statistically significant relationship between the percentage of Republican supporters and rates of vaccine hesitancy. The higher the Republican affiliation, the lower the vaccination rates. It is possible that the Republican Party has played an organizing role in encouraging vaccine hesitancy and patient harm."

NOPE.

 

The bigger problem with this red/blue divide on such an important health issue is the knock-on effect with childhood vaccinations and the dangers of allowing almost extinct illnesses to resurface:

Republicans’ War on Their Own Public Health - The American Prospect
"Tens of thousands of conservatives died because they believed anti-vaccine lies. Now the GOP is bringing back measles and polio.
Readers might be surprised to learn that Mississippi has the highest child vaccination rate of any state in the country. The main reason is that it is one of a handful of states with a school vaccination requirement that has no exceptions of any kind. It formerly had a religious exception, but the state supreme court ruled that it violated the state constitution in 1979. This is why Mississippi has not had a measles outbreak since 1992.

Alas, that vaccination crown is likely to be lost soon. Federal District Court Judge Halil Ozerden, a George W. Bush appointee, recently ruled that Mississippi must reintroduce a religious exemption.

That ruling is part and parcel of the Republican turn against their own health. Many tens of thousands of loyal conservative voters have died unnecessarily of COVID-19 because they refused to get the vaccine—a refusal championed by anti-vaccine messaging from political leaders and media figures (many of whom died of COVID themselves). Now that has made them more skeptical of vaccines of any kind, which might just bring back measles, mumps, rubella, polio, and more. The GOP is so politically diseased that it can’t take elementary steps to protect its own members from actual disease."

 

More on childhood vaccination decline as a result of the antivax misinformation campaigns for covid-19:

How fringe anti-science views infiltrated mainstream politics — and what it means in 2024 - CBS News
"Rates of routine childhood vaccination hit a 10-year low in 2023. That, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, puts about 250,000 kindergartners at risk for measles, which often leads to hospitalization and can cause death. In recent weeks, an infant and two young children have been hospitalized amid an ongoing measles outbreak in Philadelphia that spread to a day care center.

It's a dangerous shift driven by a critical mass of people who now reject decades of science backing the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccines. State by state, they've persuaded legislators and courts to more easily allow children to enter kindergarten without vaccines, citing religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs.
Growing vaccine hesitancy is just a small part of a broader rejection of scientific expertise that could have consequences ranging from disease outbreaks to reduced funding for research that leads to new treatments. "The term 'infodemic' implies random junk, but that's wrong," said Peter Hotez, a vaccine researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. "This is an organized political movement, and the health and science sectors don't know what to do."

Changing views among Republicans have steered the relaxation of childhood vaccine requirements, according to the Pew Research Center. Whereas nearly 80% of Republicans supported the rules in 2019, fewer than 60% do today. Democrats have held steady, with about 85% supporting. Mississippi, which once boasted the nation's highest rates of childhood vaccination, began allowing religious exemptions last summer. Another leader in vaccination, West Virginia, is moving to do the same."

 

Those are people who read stuff such as this.
http://www.politicalforum.com/index...ury-and-autism.579730/page-13#post-1072339238
http://www.politicalforum.com/index...-lies-furiously.583345/page-5#post-1074979233

 

Nope. They are people who have no formal science education and rely on highly dangerous disinformation and misinformation sources.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/22/republicans-vaccines-polls/
"Why do Republicans disproportionately believe health misinformation?Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) had only one comment to add when sharing a wildly conspiratorial article alleging that the recent surge in covid cases could be a way to force compliance with vaccination efforts: three “thinking face” emoji, the social media indicator of “Hey, I’m just asking questions.”

Greene, of course, has a well-earned reputation as a purveyor of conspiracy theories and misinformation. But this particular bit of performed skepticism was not an area in which she was freelancing. In recent days there has been a resurgence in the idea that the government is attempting to manipulate the citizenry through covid, with “I WILL NOT COMPLY” trending — yes, in all caps — on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday morning. That refusal to comply centers on nonexistent or theoretical mandates, which doesn’t seem to have dissipated the energy.

It also comes as new research shows the extent to which Republicans are disproportionately credulous about health-related misinformation. It’s not just that there is an uprising against an imaginary imposition, it’s also that Republicans are consistently more likely to express belief in false claims related to covid and other things. Greene is by no means alone."

Read more here.

 

For red and blue America, a glaring divide in COVID-19 death rates persists 2 years later - ABC News (go.com)
"Data sourced from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the 10 states with the highest vaccination rates all voted for Biden in 2020, while nine of the 10 states with the lowest vaccination rates voted for Trump. The lone exception was Georgia, which narrowly went for Biden by less than a quarter of a percentage point.

Further, cumulative death data from the C.D.C., from over the last 10 months, illustrates the implications of political polarization of the COVID-19 vaccines.

An ABC News analysis of federal data found that on average, the death rates in states that voted for Trump were more than 38% higher than in states that voted for Biden, post widespread vaccine availability.

In addition, in the 10 states with the lowest percentage of full vaccinations, death rates were almost twice as high as that of states with the highest vaccination rates, the analysis found."

 

Do GOP voters continue to distrust vaccines? - POLITICO
This is the fourth story of a five-part series diving into the rise of the anti-vaccine political movement.
Vaccine skepticism has found a home in the post-pandemic GOP. And it’s not just related to the Covid shot.

The parties diverge most on Covid
The chasm between the two parties is widest when it comes to the Covid shot in particular. The overwhelming majority of Democratic voters (91 percent) said Covid vaccines are “very” or “somewhat” safe for adults. But barely half of Republicans (52 percent) said the same.

Only 27 percent of Republicans said the Covid vaccine is “very safe” for adults — while nearly as many, 23 percent, said it’s “very unsafe.”

 

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/25/1189939229/covid-deaths-democrats-republicans-gap-study
"Republicans' excess death rate spiked after COVID-19 vaccines arrived, a study says

The pandemic inflicted higher rates of excess deaths on both Republicans and Democrats. But after COVID-19 vaccines arrived, Republican voters in Florida and Ohio died at a higher rate than their counterparts, according to a new study.

Researchers from Yale University who studied the pandemic's effects on those two states say that from the pandemic's start in March 2020 through December 2021, "excess mortality was significantly higher for Republican voters than Democratic voters after COVID-19 vaccines were available to all adults, but not before." More specifically, the researchers say, their adjusted analysis found that "the excess death rate among Republican voters was 43% higher than the excess death rate among Democratic voters" after vaccine eligibility was opened.

The different rates "were concentrated in counties with lower vaccination rates, and primarily noted in voters residing in Ohio," according to the study that was published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday. It's the latest research to suggest the perils of mixing partisan politics with medical advice and health policy."

 

Even with the clear improvement in efficacy, hospitalization, fatalities in covid vaccinations there is still this clear and divisible line amongst red and blue politics. Having voted for both over the years, this modern-times divide just doesn't make any sense to me.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10002444/
"The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought opposition to vaccination to the surface [5]. Although most have regarded vaccination as a necessary step against the virus, some have raised doubts about the legitimacy of government-led vaccination programs [5,58]. In particular, conservatives have been more likely to oppose vaccination than liberals because of their ideological beliefs.

Given this context, we focused on two issues. First, we examined whether political ideology is associated with individuals’ trust in the government to ensure vaccine safety. More importantly, we explored whether ideology-driven attitudes can be shaped by the level of political trust individuals possess.

The empirical results helped answer these questions. First, we found that conservatives were unlikely to trust the government to ensure vaccine safety. Second, the results confirmed that political trust can help alter individuals’ ideology-driven attitudes toward government claims to ensure vaccine safety. In general, conservatives tend not to trust the government to ensure vaccine safety, but they are willing to trust it if they possess a high level of political trust. The results showed that the outcomes of individuals’ political ideologies are subject to being altered by factors such as political trust. Thus, the political actors who are intent on vaccinating more people against various diseases should be motivated to improve the public’s level of political trust."

 

This survey takes political party affiliation into account. It's from February 2022.

How Many People Died from the Covid-19 Inoculations? An Estimate Based on a Survey of the United States Population
https://mark-skidmore.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Survey-of-Covid-Heatlh-Experiences-Final.pdf
(excerpts)
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(page 14)
Before discussing the survey, it is necessary to acknowledge some the challenges and limitations associated with using a survey in the context of collecting COVID-19 health information, particularly for what has now become a very politicized topic. First, though a person may be offering truthful information, every person interprets events with some bias. For example, a respondent who self identifies as a Republican may offer a report that is different than a person who identifies as a Democrat. Each respondent has a unique perception based on history, beliefs, culture, family background, etc. As discussed later, I offer some analysis and evidence that this is the case with this survey.
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(page 37)
The evaluation thus far has assumed that the reported inoculation-related fatalities and injuries are due to the inoculation. Here, I relax that strong assumption and examine estimated fatalities under a range of scenarios. As discussed earlier, the perceptions of respondents can be biased. To examine potential bias, consider reported inoculation-related fatalities for Democrats, Republicans, and Independents which are 7, 29, and 19 fatalities, respectively. It is notable that Democrats report far fewer fatalities than Republicans, suggesting politicization of the issue. We can recalculate estimated nationwide fatalities with scenarios where Democrats, Republicans, and Independents are presumed to offer a truer or a more observant sense of what is happening on the ground by superimposing deaths reported by one political affiliation on the other political categories. If Democrats offer a clearer assessment, the estimated fatalities are about 118,600. If Republicans are more perceptive, then the estimated fatalities are 487,200. Basing the calculations on the perceptions of Independents generates estimated fatalities of 319,200.
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(page 39)
The probit regressions for the inoculation decision, having had an adverse event from inoculation, and knowing someone who experienced an adverse event are shown in Table 7. Note that coefficient estimates presented here have been converted to marginal effects, so that one can more clearly see the magnitudes of the effects in terms of the change in probability associated with each variable. Starting with socioeconomic factors, those who are older are more likely to be inoculated, but less likely to know someone who has been injured from inoculation. Respondents with higher income are also more likely to be inoculated. Relative to Democrats, those who self-identify as Republican are 31% less likely to be inoculated and are more likely know someone who has experienced an adverse event. Those who identify as Independent are also much less likely to be inoculated. There is little evidence that there is a significant urbanrural divide when it comes to inoculation issues. However, race is very important. African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians are much less likely to be inoculated relative to Caucasians (25% to 30% less likely). African Americans are also much more likely to report an adverse event (46% more likely) and more likely to know someone who has experienced a health problem post-inoculation. Higher education attainment is associated with a higher likelihood of inoculation. Also, those with doctoral or professional degrees are 85% and 74% more likely to report that they knew someone who has experienced a health problem after inoculation, respectively, relative to someone who had not completed high school (the omitted category).
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ibid -
"While the duration of the pandemic and its outcomes are only now becoming clear, this study shows an apparent association between mitigation efforts and lesser negative outcomes due to COVID-19. Despite the hesitancy of many, this work’s key conclusion is that mass-behavioral changes prescribed through legislation do provide mass-scale dividends in areas that promote these strategies. In highlighting the political divide between COVID-19 legislative and mitigation efforts, researchers do not intend to proselytize one ideology to another but to expand on the notion that differences between dominant political affiliations are equally relevant to consider."

 

Look what these Republicans in Florida said a year ago.

Brevard County Republicans vote in favor of making the Covid-19 vaccine illegal in state of Florida
https://rumble.com/v307dac-brevard-...favor-of-making-the-covid-19-vaccine-ill.html

 

Listen to what these Republicans say.

GOP Hears 'Very Compelling Evidence' Of COVID Vaccine Injuries
https://rumble.com/v3vrt0q-gop-hears-very-compelling-evidence-of-covid-vaccine-injuries.html

 

What did Americans learn during COVID? Democrats, Republicans differ in answers | Pew Research Center
"As with a host of other views about the coronavirus outbreak, Americans’ thoughts about these questions are often divided along partisan lines. When thinking of lessons learned about the development of medical treatments and vaccines, Democrats and those who lean to the Democratic Party often mention appreciation for the vaccine development process and the speed at which vaccines and treatments were developed. Another top response is a respect for science generally.
By comparison, Republicans and those who lean to the GOP strike a more negative tone on lessons learned. Skepticism toward vaccines is the top response among Republicans, and mentions of distrust of the pharmaceutical industry and government officials are also relatively frequent.

Partisan differences are also prominent in the recommendations people would give to the country in the event of a future public health emergency. When asked what lesson the country should learn to be better prepared for the possibility of a future infectious disease outbreak, Democrats are particularly inclined to talk about the need for better preparation, greater trust of public health guidance and faster responses."

 

Because people in politics took stances, and even lied about it. Everything about covid at every stage came with a host of lies.

It went from 2 weeks to 2 years. Masking briefly to forever. They worked, then they didn't, then they did again till we finally settled on not really they didn't.

Then the vaxx comes out and they lie that it's safe when the objective reality is we have no idea if it's safe in the long term or not. We just have a solid guess.

Then if you didn't get it despite not needing it the left in power threatened you with your job.

Fact is you dont get to do that and get compliance.

 

Kindly keep conspiracy-related crap for other threads.

And again. All those non-political issues are related to conspiracy theories.

Off topic. This forum needs another vaccine-efficacy related thread like it needs another hole in the backside.

Your claim again about vaccine-efficacy is predominately a right-wing-related opinion.

The fact is, the whole world instigated a whole host of measures to stop the pandemic and protect people.

 

Most of us have had Covid several times since they took 'vaccine'. It might have worked for the initial strain, but subsequent variants it provides little or no benefit. Let's try to keep politics out of a science.

 

Off topic hogwash. Vaccines were adapted and still are being adapted accordingly.

Or off topic inaccurate observations. There are plenty of other threads if you want to talk about vaccines.

 

Science has also shown us that Covid deaths were more common among the elderly. Older people tend to be more conservative which is why there is a discrepancy in deaths. Older people also can have heart issues. Something that can make you hesitant to take medication with potential deadly cardiac side effects.

 

It isn't a conspiracy it's the reality of what happened.

No, they aren't conspiracy at all.

Not off topic at all

It's the reality.

And they didn't work

 

Thanks for stopping by. They worked fine and it's off topic. Kindly take it to a more appropriate thread.

 

They didn't, and it's not off topic.