The politicization of COVID-19 vaccines has potentially contributed to a higher rate of excess deaths among Republicans in Ohio and Florida during the pandemic, according to a newly published study. The study, which appeared in JAMA Internal Medicine, reveals that registered Republicans had a higher excess death rate than Democrats after COVID-19 vaccines became widely accessible in May 2021.
Conducted by Yale researchers, the study examined 538,159 deaths of individuals aged 25 and older in Florida and Ohio between January 2018 and December 2021, with their 2017 voter registration linking them. Political party affiliation in Ohio was determined by whether an individual had participated in a party’s primary election within the past two years, while in Florida, it was based on party registration.
Both Democratic and Republican voters witnessed a significant increase in excess death rates during the winter of 2021. However, in the summer of 2021 following the availability of vaccines to all adults, the excess death rate among Republican voters began to surpass that of Democrats, and this gap widened further in the fall of 2021.
From May 1, 2021, onwards, the excess death rate gap between Republican and Democratic voters escalated to 7.7 percentage points, signifying that the excess death rate among Republicans was 43 percent higher compared to Democrats. The study also found that the gap in excess death rates was more pronounced in counties with lower vaccination rates, primarily within Ohio.
Authors Jacob Wallace, Jason L. Schwartz, and Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham noted that party affiliation only emerged as a significant factor after COVID-19 vaccines were accessible to all adults in the United States.
These findings coincide with ongoing scrutiny from House Republicans regarding the Biden administration’s COVID-19 response. Additionally, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s “freedom first” pandemic strategy forms the foundation of his presidential campaign.
Although the analysis used county-level data rather than individual data, it suggests that differences in vaccination attitudes and uptake between Republican and Democratic voters may have influenced the severity and course of the pandemic.
The authors acknowledge that political party affiliation might serve as a “proxy” for other factors affecting excess mortality, such as rates of underlying medical conditions, race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or health insurance coverage.
In conclusion, the study posits that Republican voters in Ohio and Florida faced a higher risk of excess deaths during the pandemic, potentially linked to the politicization of COVID-19 vaccines. However, it is important to consider additional factors that may contribute to excess mortality disparities.
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