In the initial wave of the Covid pandemic, deaths in the Northeast (and Washinton state) were far higher than other areas of the country. This is because the virus first entered the US on overseas flights to places like NYC, Boston and Seattle.
After that initial wave, the pandemic spread all across the country. After vaccines were developed, Covid deaths were higher in Republican leaning areas, as GOP voters were far less likely to become vaccinated than Dems.
Given those facts, where would you expect the most deaths from Covid? The answer is obvious—in GOP enclaves in the Northeast. They would have been hit hard by the initial wave, and then again by the delta and omicron waves due to low vaccination rates.
So that’s the theory. But does the theory match reality? Yup:
Ocean County, in central New Jersey, is a mixture of beach towns like Barnegat Light and exurban towns like Toms River and Lakewood. Household income in the county exceeds the U.S. average.
Yet Ocean County is among the least vaccinated places in the Northeast. Only 53 percent of residents have received at least two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine (or one dose of Johnson & Johnson). Only 26 percent have received a booster shot.
The large number of unvaccinated residents in Ocean County has led to a horrific amount of Covid illness and death. Nearly one out of every 200 residents has died from the virus. That is worse than the toll in Mississippi, the U.S. state with the largest amount of Covid death per capita, and worse than in any country except for Peru.
What explains the vaccine skepticism in Ocean County? Politics, above all. The county is heavily Republican.
PS. This article caught my eye:
Though Paxlovid has only emergency approval, that interim status doesn’t put off many patients who need it, even those who resist vaccines, said Glatt from Mount Sinai. “They beg for it,” he said. “They ask for it.”
But it’s only an “experimental” drug!
PPS. There is a special circle in hell for people who have been discouraging pregnant women from getting vaccinated.
PPPS. Speaking of pandemics, I’ve always been somewhat skeptical of the claim that 50% of Europeans died during the Black Death. Now I’m extremely skeptical. The reason I was previously skeptical is:
1. Plagues were far more deadly in big cities than in the countryside.
2. Estimated death rates were about 50% in big cities during the Black Death.
3. Over 90% of Europeans lived in rural areas.
Ergo . . .