It’s been almost 3 1/2 years since COVID began changing the lives of just about every person on the planet. Millions of people died or lost their livelihoods, world economies reeled, and a new divide formed among populations with those who essentially ignored the pandemic by refusing to get vaccinated or wear protective masks, and those who took it seriously by getting all the shots, donning a mask, and staying home.
Then it became political.
A new study issued last week by the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that Republicans have paid (and are still paying) a steeper price than Democrats when it comes to mortality - up to 15% more. In Ohio, the rate was 43% higher.
The margins became more acute after the vaccine became widely available with far more Republicans than Democrats opting out of vaccinations. Emergency rooms were filled to capacity with patients who did not receive the vaccine, often leaving little room for victims with other life threatening issues.
To this day, COVID remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States, particularly among the unvaccinated.
Darwin’s law in action.