The corona pandemic exacerbated social and health inequalities that already existed in society. This is now supported by a recent study from the US: in 2020, Covid-19 killed the poor and underprivileged there, and increasingly Trump voters. The poorest and socially weakest states, such as Peru or Russia, had death rates from Covid 19, according to a study published late last week in the journal “Lancet.”
Health is highly dependent on social influences, as Thomas Bollyky (Council of Foreign Relations/Washington DC) and his co-authors demonstrate in the most comprehensive work to date on coping with the Covid 19 pandemic: “While the U.S. played a leading role in developing effective Covid-19 vaccines and delivered large quantities of them early on, the United States ranked only 66th in the international comparison of states and regions in vaccination coverage,” says the introduction to the research.
The scientists looked at the differences in infections and deaths from Covid-19 by US state, ethnic group and social situation. The resulting fluctuations were enormous.
Poorest states at the level of Russia
In the observation period from January 1, 2020 to July 31, 2022, the US had an overall Covid-19 death rate of 372 deaths per 100,000 population. For example, Denmark had a Covid-19 mortality of 115 per 100,000 inhabitants, Switzerland one of 155/100,000, Germany reported 170 SARS-CoV-2 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, as the authors state.
In the US, only the US states of Vermont (111 covid-19 deaths/100,000 inhabitants), Utah (157/100,000) and Washington (193/100,000) came close to the figures of the high-performing European states. The poorest US state, Mississippi, was as bad as Russia (537/100,000) or Bulgaria (539/100,000) with 551 Covid-19 victims per 100,000 inhabitants. Only Peru was significantly higher with a Covid-19 death rate of 631/100,000.
Large fluctuations also in the US
A US national comparison showed differences in Covid-19 mortality rates of up to five times or more: when the data was standardized i.e. made comparable based on population, demographics, etc., Hawaii had the lowest mortality with 147 Covid-19 dead, then New Hampshire (215/100,000) and Maine (218/100,000). The US state of New Mexico finished last with 521 Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, the District of Columbia (Washington DC; 526/100,000 and Arizona (581/100,000).
‘Explains why the US had such a hard time’
“What becomes clear from our study is that Covid-19 has created local inequalities based on ethnicity, health care inequalities and partisan (Republican, Democratic; n.d.) issues and has created a ‘syndemic’ – a combination of regional factors working together to the disease burden of this pandemic and the likelihood of poor outcomes.
This combination of racial inequality and policy-driven divergence in strategy goes a long way to explaining why the U.S. has struggled so hard with the pandemic,” said lead author Bollyky.
Trump fans have been particularly affected
Better access to quality health care has led to fewer infections and deaths in every state. The share of government spending on health care per capita had no significant effect. While whether a Republican or a Democrat was governor of a state showed no statistically significant difference, citizen voting behavior in the 2020 U.S. presidential election did: the higher the share of votes for Donald Trump, the higher was the Covid-19 risk. 19 mortality.
The differences were statistically significant. On the one hand, Trump had refused effective measures, on the other hand he had occasionally propagated bizarre advice, such as the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
