Study: The Pandemic is Killing More Republicans than Democrats


A new study is out comparing excess death rates of Democrats and Republicans during the pandemic. The results are not good for Republicans.

The Republican party has lost its collective mind and (among other things) is rife with anti-vaxxers. Consequently, its members are the most resistant political group to getting vaccinated, with 30% saying they plan to never get vaccinated. Of those that are vaccinated, only 11% say they plan to get the new bivalent booster anytime soon. 

It is abundantly clear—at least for those willing to look at evidence—that vaccines are safe and effective. They keep people from getting seriously ill and dying. 

So it comes as no surprise that researchers have found more excess deaths in a party whose members refuse to accept this. It's hard not to think of this as natural selection.

"Excess deaths" are determined by comparing death rates during normal periods with those observed during some special period like a pandemic. It's how public health officials concluded that Arizona is number one in pandemic deaths. 

It's a complicated thing to figure out because there are differences in the number of Democrats and Republicans, they differ in age, and so on. So all those things need to be factored-in to be sure we're comparing apples to apples. Fortunately economists did this study, and economists are pretty good at such analyses.

The study looked at only Florida and Ohio. The paper doesn't say why they made this selection, but it may be that those were the best places to find a good balance of both parties and where they could link mortality data to voter registration data.  

Here is the "money shot" graphic from the study:

 The top graph shows raw numbers of deaths by party. The two groups are indistinguishable during normal times and even through the first months of the pandemic. Then around September 2020 they diverge then diverge more in spring 2021 when vaccines become available, then even more as time goes on.

The bottom graph shows this more clearly, with Rep deaths minus Dem deaths adjusted for variables like those described above. Positive values indicate more Republican excess deaths. Notice that since summer 2020 the line has been trending upward and continues in that direction until the end of the study period in December 2021. 

This means that the Republican excess death rate continues to accelerate. How can party leaders look at this and not try to do something about it?! I have a feeling it may have something to do with a certain orange individual.

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