U.S. Covid Deaths Get Even Redder

The gap in Covid’s death toll between red (#Republican) and blue (#Democrat) #America has grown faster over the past month than at any previous point. In October, 25 out of every 100,000 residents of heavily Trump voting counties died from #Covid, more than three times higher than the rate in heavily Biden voting counties (7.8 per 100,000). October was the fifth consecutive month that the percentage gap between the #death rates in Trump counties and Biden counties widened.

Some conservative writers have tried to claim that the gap may stem from regional differences in weather or age, but those arguments fall apart under scrutiny. (If weather or age were a major reason, the pattern would have begun to appear last year.) The true explanation is straightforward: The #vaccines are remarkably effective at preventing severe Covid, and almost 40 percent of Republican adults remain #unvaccinated, compared with about 10 percent of Democratic adults.

This situation is a #tragedy, in which #irrational fears about #vaccine side effects have overwhelmed rational fears about a deadly virus. It stems from disinformation — promoted by right-wing media, like Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News, the Sinclair Broadcast Group and online sources — that preys on the distrust that results from stagnant living standards.

See also here: https://desdemonadespair.net/2021/11/u-s-covid-deaths-get-even-redder-gap-in-covid-death-toll-between-republican-and-democratic-america-grew-faster-in-october-2021-than-at-any-previous-time-during-the-pandemic.html