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- Title
Partisan polarization, historical heritage, and public health: Exploring COVID‐19 outcomes.
- Authors
Curtis, Craig; Stillman, John; Remmel, Megan; Pierce, John C.; Lovrich, Nicholas P.; Adams‐Curtis, Leah E.
- Abstract
When the COVID‐19 virus first arrived in the United States in early 2020, many epidemiologists and public health officers counseled for shutdowns and advised policymakers to prepare for a major pandemic. In 2020, though, US society was rife with major political and cultural divides. Some elected leaders promoted policies at odds with the experts, and many people refused to heed the public health‐based communications about the coming pandemic. Additionally, the capacity to respond to a pandemic was distributed in the country in a highly unequal fashion. This paper analyzes the noteworthy geopolitical patterns of COVID‐19 illnesses, subsequent demands on hospitals, and resulting deaths. This description is based on a snapshot of archival data gathered in the midst of the pandemic during late January and early February of 2021. Demographic data, indicators of political party support, indicators of citizen attitudes, and public health compliance behaviors are combined in a multivariate analysis to explain COVID‐19 outcomes at the local government (county) level. The analysis suggests strongly that regional political culture and local demographics played a substantial role in determining the severity of the public health impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Key points: During the early stages of the COVID Pandemic, regional political culture and local demographics played a substantial role in determining the severity of the public health impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic.Race, as measured by the percent white of a county, was the single strongest predictor of COVID outcomes.Preparing for future pandemics requires us to address social and economic inequality in our society.
- Subjects
UNITED States; POLARIZATION (Social sciences); COVID-19 pandemic; PUBLIC health officers; COVID-19; PUBLIC health
- Publication
World Medical & Health Policy, 2023, Vol 15, Issue 2, p163
- ISSN
1948-4682
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/wmh3.543