Hi Jim,

Thank you for your polite response. I always appreciate fair and polite criticism. Unfortunately, the partisan influence has grown significantly more prevalent since 2017, which is the publication date for the article you cited. More recent articles suggest that there is a strong correlation between partisan identification and the degree to which a person will take covid-19 seriously. Whether that is in masking or even in vaccination.

In 2021, The Guardian noted that there was a significant difference in the rate of vaccination between Democrats and Republicans with Republicans being less likely to vaccinate against Covid-19. Similarly, a Washington Post article by Aaron Blake in the same year found that Republicans were less likely to vaccinate their kids, although that difference declined for kids aged 5-11, but for kids aged 12 to 17, the gap was as large as 55 points. That is not a mere representation of polling, but an ideological inclination created by partisan identification.

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/17/counties-voted-trump-higher-covid-death-rate

https://news.yahoo.com/massive-gap-between-republicans-democrats-224807475.html

There are other factors, of course, such as racial demographics. As WFAE’s Steve Harrison pointed out last year, African Americans have been previously hesitant to get vaccinated due to how the medical industry has generally treated them, although that distrust declined over time. There is also, of course, the issue of access and poverty, but even then, partisan identification remains a strong factor.

Source:

https://www.wfae.org/politics/2021-04-17/are-covid-19-vaccination-rates-as-simple-as-republicans-vs-democrats

It is a sad thing, something that I wish were not true.

As much as I detest Republican policy-making, I don’t want them to die or suffer. But with misinformation comes horrible, detestable suffering. It is one of the reasons it needs to be called out.

I hope this clarifies my position.

Thanks,

Conor