Conservative Vaccine Politics Found Likely to Be Responsible for Excess Conservative Deaths During Covid-Study

A study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine highlights the influence of the political climate surrounding coronavirus vaccines on the rate of excess deaths among registered Republicans in Ohio and Florida. The research conducted by Yale University points out a partisan divide over COVID-19 vaccines, which have proven to save lives but remain a topic of contention in American politics, even as the pandemic has been receding.

The study reveals that following the availability of vaccines for all adults in April 2021, registered Republicans experienced a higher rate of excess deaths compared to Democrats. It's important to note that the study does not directly attribute these deaths to COVID-19. Instead, "excess mortality" refers to the overall death rate exceeding what would typically be expected based on historical trends. The findings indicate a potential correlation between vaccine politics and the mortality rates within different political groups during the pandemic.

The study investigated the deaths of 538,139 individuals aged 25 years and older in Florida and Ohio over a period from January 2018 to December 2021. Researchers associated these deaths with the respective individuals' party registration records. At the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, the study revealed that the excess death rate for both Republicans and Democrats was roughly similar. This suggests that there was no significant difference in mortality rates between the two political groups during the early stages of the pandemic.

Both political parties experienced a significant increase in excess deaths during the following winter, and this increase was similar between Republicans and Democrats. However, starting from April 2021, a notable gap in excess death rates emerged, with the rate for Republicans being 7.7 percentage points higher than that of Democrats. For Republicans, this meant a substantial 43 percent increase in excess deaths.

The researchers observed that the difference in excess death rates was more pronounced in counties with lower vaccination rates, and it was primarily driven by voters in Ohio. The study's findings suggest that disparities in vaccination attitudes and uptake among Republican and Democratic voters may have played a role in influencing the severity and trajectory of the pandemic in the United States.

The study's authors, Jacob Wallace, Jason L. Schwartz, and Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham from Yale University, cautioned that the data used in their research did not provide information about individual causes of death or vaccination status. Additionally, the study's data did not cover voters without party affiliation and was limited to the states of Florida and Ohio, which might not serve as direct comparisons to other states.

Despite this, Republicans are expected to continue doubling down on their rhetoric that vaccines are typically bad for you, despite the strong evidence to the contrary that this belief itself was responsible for many conservative deaths.