Washington, D.C. — As a new analysis reveals voters in red states are dying from COVID-19 at disproportionately high rates, press reports make it clear that Republicans are directly contributing to higher death rates and undermining our economic recovery. While President Biden works to increase vaccinations and end this crisis, Republicans continue to push misinformation, attack masks and other safety measures, and go to court to stop vaccine mandates. By slowing down vaccinations, Republicans are prolonging the pandemic and harming the economy in hopes of political gain. In response, Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach released the following statement:
“Republicans will stop at nothing to stand in the way of President Biden’s pandemic response. While the Biden administration has fought tirelessly to get more shots in arms and end this pandemic, Republicans have relentlessly attacked public health experts and basic measures to keep Americans safe. By pushing baseless conspiracy theories and going to court to stop vaccine mandates, Republicans are prolonging this pandemic and undermining the nation’s economic recovery, a move that they believe will help them politically in 2022. The new data published by NPR only confirms that Republicans are willing to sacrifice the lives of their own voters for political gain — it’s shameful.“
REPUBLICANS ARE PLAYING POLITICS AND ENDANGERING THOUSANDS OF AMERICAN LIVES
Republicans Are Playing Politics With Peoples’ Lives
The Guardian: “Republicans Have Chosen To Be On The Side Of The Virus.” “Eric Schultz, a communications strategist who worked in the Obama administration, told the Associated Press: ‘It’s clear that Republicans have decided that the fate of the Biden presidency is tied to Covid. And Republicans have chosen to be on the side of the virus.’” [The Guardian, 12/5/21]
CNN: “Republican Officials Have Elevated Exploiting The Pandemic Over Ending It.” “Just as they’ve elevated voting restrictions over the protection of democratic elections, Republican officials have elevated exploiting the pandemic over ending it. While GOP attorneys general bogged down vaccine mandates in court, GOP senators last week threatened to shutter the federal government to block them — even as some Republicans slam Biden for failing to contain the pandemic. They seek approval from rank-and-file Republicans, who represent the locus of vaccine refusal. Fully 60% of unvaccinated Americans, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey, identify with the GOP. That proportion increased from 42% in April even as the pandemic killed Republicans in disproportionate numbers.” [CNN, 12/5/21]
Republicans are Siding With Anti-Vaxxers and Pushing Conspiracy Theories
Huffington Post: The Vast Majority Of Republicans Believe One Or More False Statements About Covid-19 And Vaccines. “Republicans are now the largest single demographic group of the unvaccinated in America…Polling by the [Kaiser Family] foundation revealed that Republicans are far more likely to believe false statements about COVID-19 and vaccines. All but 6% of Republicans believe that one or more false statements about COVID-19 and vaccines might be true, and 46% believed four or more statements might be true.” [Huffington Post, 12/5/21]
NPR: Inside The Growing Alliance Between Anti-Vaccine Activists And Pro-Trump Republicans. “As America heads into midterm elections next year, the political right and the anti-vaccine movement are drawing ever-closer together. It’s an alliance that promises to give both sides more power, but the cost is potentially thousands of American lives.” [NPR, 12/6/21]
People In Red Counties Are Dying At Disproportionate Rates As A Result Of Republicans’ Failed Leadership
NPR: Pro-Trump Counties Now Have Far Higher COVID Death Rates. Misinformation Is To Blame. “People living in counties that went 60% or higher for Trump in November 2020 had 2.7 times the death rates of those that went for Biden. Counties with an even higher share of the vote for Trump saw higher COVID-19 mortality rates. In October, the reddest tenth of the country saw death rates that were six times higher than the bluest tenth.” [NPR, 12/5/21]
Washington Post: “Many Of The States That Saw The Biggest Increases In Per-Capita Deaths In The Second Half Of The Pandemic Are Ones That Trump Won Handily Last Year.” “Many of the states that saw the biggest increases in per-capita deaths in the second half of the pandemic are ones that Trump won handily last year.” [Washington Post, 12/1/21]
The Hill: People In Pro-Trump Areas Nearly Three Times More Likely To Die From COVID-19. “Liz Hamel, KFF’s vice president of public opinion and survey research, told NPR that political affiliation is now the strongest indicator of someone’s vaccination status. ‘An unvaccinated person is three times as likely to lean Republican as they are to lean Democrat,’ said Hamel. ‘If I wanted to guess if somebody was vaccinated or not and I could only know one thing about them, I would probably ask what their party affiliation is.’” [The Hill, 12/6/21]
CNN: Risk Of Dying From Covid-19 Is Higher In Red States. “Since vaccines have become widely available, the average risk of dying from Covid-19 is more than 50% higher in states that voted for President Trump in 2020 than it is in states that voted for President Biden.” [CNN, 12/2/21]