We'll start this sad sad story with NPR:
Even with widely available vaccines and newly effective treatments, residents of counties that went heavily for Donald Trump in the last presidential election are more than twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than those that live in areas that went for President Biden. That's according to a newly-updated analysis from NPR, examining how partisanship and misinformation are shaping the pandemic.
Partisanship and misinformation, thy name is Wendy Bell.
I'm not saying that our Angel of Death caused the partisanship or created the misinformation (that river runs deep. Deeper than we can deal with here.) but she certainly helped amplify both it here in SWPA.
How much of the damage is she responsible for? No way to tell.
Anyway, back to NPR:
NPR examined COVID deaths per 100,000 people in roughly 3,000 counties across the U.S. from May 2021, the point at which most Americans could find a vaccine if they wanted one. Those living in counties that voted 60% or higher for Trump in November 2020 had 2.26 times the death rate of those that went by the same margin for Biden. Counties with a higher share of Trump votes had even higher mortality rates.
The scale of the preventable loss of life is staggering. According to a recent analysis by Brown University, nearly 320,000 lives nationwide could have been saved if more people had chosen to get vaccinated. The Brown analysis also shows a partisan split in how those preventable deaths are distributed. States that went most heavily for Trump – including Wyoming and West Virginia – have among the highest rates of preventable deaths, while states that voted heavily for Biden – such as Massachusetts and Vermont – had among the lowest.
So since, as they say, that all politics is local, let's see how this has played out in the counties in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Let's start Biden's winning county.
-
Allegheny County: According to
Politico, Biden won with 59.6% of the vote. According to
the NPR analysis, Allegheny County with a 78% vaccination rate is averaging 14 fewer deaths
per 100K than the overall average. Allegheny County's vaccination rate is 5
points higher than the overall average.
Now we'll look at Trump's winning counties in SWPA.
- Beaver County: According to Politico, Trump won with 58.2% of the vote. According to the NPR analysis, Beaver County, with a 59% vaccination rate, is averaging 92 more deaths per 100K than the overall average. Beaver County's vaccination rate is 14 points lower than the overall average.
- Lawrence County: According to Politico, Trump won with 64.2% of the vote. According to the NPR analysis, Beaver County, with a 64% vaccination rate, is averaging 120 more deaths per 100K than the overall average. Lawrence County's vaccination rate is 9 points lower than the overall average.
- Butler County: According to Politico, Trump won with 65.6% of the vote. According to the NPR analysis, Butler County, with a 73% vaccination rate, is averaging 46 more deaths per 100K than the overall average. Lawrence County's vaccination rate is the same as the overall average.
- Armstrong County: According to Politico, Trump won with 75.6% of the vote. According to the NPR analysis, Armstrong County, with a 70% vaccination rate, is averaging 195 more deaths per 100K than the overall average. Armstrong County's vaccination rate is 3 points lower than the overall average.
- Westmoreland County: According to Politico, Trump won with 63.6% of the vote. According to the NPR analysis, Westmoreland County, with a 66% vaccination rate, is averaging 51 more deaths per 100K than the overall average. Westmoreland County's vaccination rate is 7 points lower than the overall average.
- Fayette County: According to Politico, Trump won with 66.3% of the vote. According to the NPR analysis, Fayette County, with a 66% vaccination rate, is averaging 158 more deaths per 100K than the overall average. Fayette County's vaccination rate is 6 points lower than the overall average.
- Greene County: According to Politico, Trump won with 71.2% of the vote. According to the NPR analysis, Greene County, with a 60% vaccination rate, is averaging 53 more deaths per 100K than the overall average. Greene County's vaccination rate is 13 points lower than the overall average.
-
Washington County: According to
Politico, Trump won with 60.8% of the vote. According to
the NPR analysis, Washington County, with a 73% vaccination rate, is averaging 45 more
deaths per 100K than the overall average. Washington County's vaccination
rate is the same as the overall average.
Connection's pretty obvious, doncha think? It's right there. Higher death rates and lower vaccination rates in the counties that Trump won.
Thank you, Wendy Bell. thank you and all the other MAGA hat wearing vaccine deniers in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Through your untiring efforts over the last few months, you've nurtured a culture that's more than likely lead to the deaths of many many of our fellow Pennsylvanians.
It looks like the number of unnecessary deaths statewide is somewhere around 14,000. That's the estimated number of lives that could have been saved had everyone gotten vaccinated as soon as possible.
14K dead, Wendy. You should be proud of yourself.
Wendy Bell, The Angel of Death.
