Vaccine politics may be to blame for GOP excess deaths in Ohio and Florida, study finds

Polds4OSU

Marshall
We all these types of reports were coming. Didn't expect such disparity though. WOW!



Yale University researchers found that registered Republicans had a higher rate of excess deaths than Democrats in the months following when vaccines became available for all adults in April 2021. The study does not directly attribute the deaths to covid-19. Instead, excess mortality refers to the overall rate of deaths exceeding what would be expected from historical trends.

The study examined the deaths of 538,139 people 25 years and older in Florida and Ohio, between January 2018 and December 2021, with researchers linking them to party registration records. Researchers found the excess death rate for Republicans and Democrats was about the same at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

Both parties experienced a sharp but similar increase in excess deaths the following winter. But after April 2021, the gap in excess death rates emerged, with the rate for Republicans 7.7 percentage points higher than the rate for Democrats. For Republicans, that translated into a 43 percent increase in excess deaths.

Researchers said the gap in excess death rates was larger in counties with lower vaccination rates and noted that the gap was primarily driven by voters in Ohio. The results suggest that differences in vaccination attitudes and the uptake among Republican and Democratic voters "may have been factors in the severity and trajectory of the pandemic" in the United States.

In their paper, Yale researchers Jacob Wallace, Jason L. Schwartz and Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham cautioned the data did not include individual causes of death or whether someone had been vaccinated. The data did not look at voters who had no party affiliation and was limited to Florida and Ohio, which aren't neat comparisons to other states.

The excess death rates between groups could be affected by other factors, such as differences in education, race, ethnicity, underlying conditions and access to health care, said Wallace, an assistant professor at the Yale School of Public Health and the lead author.

"We're not saying that if you took someone's political party affiliation and were to change it from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party that they would be more likely to die from covid-19," Wallace said.

Researchers also pointed out that more than 50 million Americans have yet to get an initial coronavirus vaccine, and reasons often extend "beyond political beliefs or party affiliation alone." Surveys have shown Republicans lagged in vaccination rates, including for booster shots. KFF estimated that between June 2021 and March 2022, at least 234,000 covid-19 deaths could have been prevented if people had received a primary series of vaccinations.

The Yale study adds to a growing body of research indicating that Republican messaging on vaccines and other public health measures such as mask-wearing, limiting crowds and social distancing may have led to preventable deaths.

Last year, a study from researchers at the University of Maryland and University of California at Irvine published in Health Affairs concluded that Republican-majority counties experienced nearly 73 additional deaths per 100,000 people relative to majority Democratic counties through October 2021. The study suggested that vaccine uptake accounted for only 10 percent of the Republican-Democrat gap in deaths.

"We have all these data points that really highlight the relevance of sound public health policy," said Neil Jay Sehgal, who led the Maryland study and is now an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Public Health.

The release of the Yale study comes as the vaccine rollout and policies under President Biden have faced criticism by some Republicans, including members of the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) pushed the rollout of vaccines early in the pandemic. But as he prepared to mount a bid for the Republican presidential nomination, DeSantis displayed increased hostility toward vaccines, petitioning for a state grand jury to investigate supposed wrongdoing related to vaccines. Florida's health department even issued a "health alert" on mRNA vaccine safety, which drew sharp rebukes.

Public health officials fear mixed messaging on coronavirus vaccines by Republicans is shaping attitudes toward the vaccine in dangerous ways.

In a nationwide survey published in March by the University of South Florida, only 49 percent of Republicans said they were "very" or "somewhat confident" that coronavirus vaccines are safe, contrasted with 88 percent of Democrats. Stephen R. Neely, a professor at USF's School of Public Affairs who conducted the survey, said the Yale study was important because it highlighted how sharply partisanship over coronavirus vaccine safety and efficacy has led to unnecessary deaths.

"It's one of the most telling metrics I've seen in how the politicization of the pandemic has played out in the real world," Neely said.
 
Good grief.

In their paper, Yale researchers Jacob Wallace, Jason L. Schwartz and Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham cautioned the data did not include individual causes of death or whether someone had been vaccinated. The data did not look at voters who had no party affiliation and was limited to Florida and Ohio, which aren't neat comparisons to other states.

The excess death rates between groups could be affected by other factors, such as differences in education, race, ethnicity, underlying conditions and access to health care, said Wallace, an assistant professor at the Yale School of Public Health and the lead author.

"We're not saying that if you took someone's political party affiliation and were to change it from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party that they would be more likely to die from covid-19," Wallace said.

Somebody somewhere should be wiping their arse with this "study".
 
Elon Musk is using Bronny James' cardiac arrest to baselessly spout anti-vaccine talking points yahoo
  • Elon Musk is using Bronny James' cardiac arrest to share anti-vaccine talking points.
  • James went into cardiac arrest Monday during a basketball practice at USC.
  • In a tweet, Musk baselessly speculated about the COVID-19 vaccine, which has not been linked to James at all.
Elon Musk is using news of Bronny James' cardiac arrest to baselessly speculate about the COVID-19 vaccine on Twitter.

A family spokesperson told Insider on Tuesday that James went into cardiac arrest during a Monday basketball practice at USC's Galen Center. He was taken to the hospital and was treated in the ICU. James is now in stable condition.

The news was shared widely on Twitter Tuesday, prompting Musk to share some anti-vaccine talking points.

In a reply to a tweet about the James news, Musk brought up the COVID-19 vaccine — without any evidence it was connected to James' cardiac arrest.

"We cannot ascribe everything to the vaccine, but, by the same token, we cannot ascribe nothing," Musk said on Twitter — now rebranded as X. "Myocarditis is a known side-effect. The only question is whether it is rare or common."

Myocarditis is not the most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes​

There is no credible reporting that the COVID vaccine caused James to go into cardiac arrest during a workout on Monday.

In rare cases, COVID-19 vaccines can cause a type of heart inflammation called myocarditis, and the issue is more common among young men. But there is no indication that James, age 18, had myocarditis.

Generally, COVID-19 vaccine-induced myocarditis involves some mild chest pain, and possibly shortness of breath. It tends to clear up within a few days. Young men are at greater risk of developing more severe myocarditis with COVID-19, the disease.

There are plenty of other reasons why James' heart might've stopped pumping on the court.

"There are a number of causes for sudden cardiac arrest in athletes who are 35 and younger," Dr. John Higgins, a sports cardiologist for the Houston Rockets basketball team, said previously in an article shared by UTHealth Houston. "Sometimes it can just be a normal heart at the wrong place and the wrong time."

The most common cause of sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes in the US is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is often caused by genetics, and makes it hard for a person's heart to take in or pump out enough blood.

Musk did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on his tweet. He has long been skeptical of mandating the COVID-19 vaccine and has questioned its effectiveness, despite the overwhelming scientific consensus that the vaccine is safe and protects against severe COVID-19.

Musk's social media site has also boosted the profile of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Democrat running for president who founded one of the most prominent anti-vaccine organizations, and who has consistently promoted baseless conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines and 5G wireless technology.
 
The problem has to do with too many Republicans taking seriously the rantings of conspiracy theory fanatics who insisted that the covid vaccines were going to kill off billions of people. So, lots of Republicans out of fear refused to take covid vaccines. Billions never died as was reflected during the winter of 2022 when 75% of the people admitted to the Stillwater Regional Hospital for covid never got vaccinated for it. It was a true reflection of how it was the world over.

The world would be a saner and safer place to live in if a lot more people would take the paranoia filled rantings of the conspiracy theory nuts as just a stupid joke. It's too bad how the government has done little to counter the situation by vigorously debunking the conspiracy theory claims, over and over again, if necessary. Government telling social media companies to ban them doesn't work. They just go elsewhere on the Internet. One of them, RFK Jr., can't even find anybody to debate him on covid vaccines or 5G. Ignoring outlandish conspiracy claims about what 5G can do won't make them go away.
 
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The problem has to do with too many Republicans taking seriously the rantings of conspiracy theory fanatics who insisted that the covid vaccines were going to kill off billions of people. So, lots of Republicans out of fear refused to take covid vaccines. Billions never died as was reflected during the winter of 2022 when 75% of the people admitted to the Stillwater Regional Hospital for covid never got vaccinated for it. It was a true reflection of how it was the world over.

The world would be a saner and safer place to live in if a lot more people would take the paranoia filled rantings of the conspiracy theory nuts as just a stupid joke. It's too bad how the government has done little to counter the situation by vigorously debunking the conspiracy theory claims, over and over again, if necessary. Government telling social media companies to ban them doesn't work. They just go elsewhere on the Internet. One of them, RFK Jr., can't even find anybody to debate him on covid vaccines or 5G. Ignoring outlandish conspiracy claims about what 5G can do won't make them go away.
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This is rich. Most people I know who got the vaccine read articles, scientific papers (I had family who had never read scientific papers prior) and/or talked to drs. I myself talked to all 3 drs our family uses.

Contrasting that w people who didn’t get vaccinated I know bc they read something on Facebook. I had one friend who has a masters degree tell me their pastor said it changed your dna and that’s why he would not get it.
 
Funny. I know plenty of people that did lots of research and decided not to take the jab. I also know two Drs that recommended against the jab for most people. 🤷‍♂️
 
Funny. I know plenty of people that did lots of research and decided not to take the jab. I also know two Drs that recommended against the jab for most people. 🤷‍♂️
Again you show your true colors. For decades people have been vaccinated against a variety of things. Then sometime they n 2021 somewhere those opposed to a CoVid vaccine came up w “the jab”. You come on here and puff out your chest insinuating that vaccinated people are following the crowd willfully w a blindfold.
Yet you are the one following the crowd w neat little bravado words like “the jab.”

But that’s only to be expected from someone who doesn’t think for themselves and relies on internet memes for communication.
 
Again you show your true colors. For decades people have been vaccinated against a variety of things. Then sometime they n 2021 somewhere those opposed to a CoVid vaccine came up w “the jab”. You come on here and puff out your chest insinuating that vaccinated people are following the crowd willfully w a blindfold.
Yet you are the one following the crowd w neat little bravado words like “the jab.”

But that’s only to be expected from someone who doesn’t think for themselves and relies on internet memes for communication.
I took the jab myself 🤷‍♂️. I got shamed into it by my Dr because I was traveling out of the country. He also told me that it would keep me from getting Covid. Then I got Covid. Twice. Maybe it would have been worse (it wasn’t bad either time) if I hadn’t been vaccinated but I doubt it. The number of lies told about Covid would fill Boone Pickens stadium.
 
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