Least Vaccinated U.S. Counties Have Something in Common: Trump Voters

The New York Times:

About 31 percent of adults in the United States have now been fully vaccinated. Scientists have estimated that 70 to 90 percent of the total population must acquire resistance to the virus to reach herd immunity. But in hundreds of counties around the country, vaccination rates are low, with some even languishing in the teens.

The disparity in vaccination rates has so far mainly broken down along political lines. The New York Times examined survey and vaccine administration data for nearly every U.S. county and found that both willingness to receive a vaccine and actual vaccination rates to date were lower, on average, in counties where a majority of residents voted to re-elect former President Donald J. Trump in 2020. The phenomenon has left some places with a shortage of supply and others with a glut.

I don’t find this surprising as a basic trend, but when I look at the graphs, I am a little surprised at how strong the correlation is. Blue states are more vaccinated, red states less, and the bluer or redder a state is, the more profound the correlation. Purple states (where the election results were very close, like my own state of Pennsylvania) are mostly right in the middle.

Think about how many lives Donald Trump could save if he barnstormed the states where he’s most popular to encourage everyone to get vaccinated. He could do it Trump style, taking personal credit for the existence of the vaccines, and I’d gladly thank him for it. He could save tens of thousands of lives and keep millions, perhaps, from getting sick.

★ Saturday, 17 April 2021