A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that the politicization of COVID-19 vaccines may have contributed to a higher excess death rate among Republicans in Ohio and Florida during the pandemic. The researchers from Yale University analyzed 538,159 deaths of individuals aged 25 years and older in these states between January 2018 and December 2021, linked to their 2017 voter registration. The study found that after COVID-19 vaccines became widely available in May 2021, registered Republicans had a higher rate of excess deaths than Democrats. The gap in excess death rates between the two parties widened to 7.7 percentage points after May 1, 2021, indicating that the excess death rate among Republican voters was 43 percent higher than among Democratic voters. The findings suggest that differences in vaccination attitudes and uptake between Republican and Democratic voters might have influenced the severity and trajectory of the pandemic in certain regions. However, the researchers also acknowledged that political party affiliation could be a “proxy” for other factors influencing excess mortality, such as underlying medical conditions, race, socioeconomic status, or health insurance coverage.

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COVID-19 vaccine politics could be linked to excess GOP deaths in Ohio, Florida: study. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4116913-covid-19-vaccine-politics-could-be-linked-to-excess-gop-deaths-in-ohio-florida-study/?fbclid=IwAR3ICmuGMaeExaDmiYWutACqwdkjFrMAA4wqCTgq5MyxpnF09c9qNc67tfE