On August 18th 2021 the Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American democracy hosted an event titled Vaccine Hesitancy: The Politics of Public Health in Tennessee. The Panel included Dr. Alex Jahangir, orthopedic surgeon and Executive Medical Director of the Center for Trauma, Paul Mango, former deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services in the Trump Administration and Former U.S. Congressman Phil Roe, MD, U.S. Representative for Tennessee’s 1st congressional district.
Almost every issue within the United States causes division and the COVID vaccine has been added to the list of controversy between parties. At the start of the pandemic, professionals were worried that minorities would be unable to get vaccines and also show more opposition towards it, however, studies show that political affiliation is what widens the gap of vaccinations. Misinformation and disinformation about the vaccine spreads rapidly due to social media and this could be causing health issues within the country.
You may hear throughout the media or even in friend groups that Republicans are anti-vaxxers and that democrats are pro vaccine. Just last week, when I was discussing the rise in COVID numbers, one of my friends stated that it was because of the Republican ran states. Even though polls show that most Trump and Republican supporters are against the vaccine, why has a public health issue become so bipartisan?
Masks are not effective.
The COVID vaccines can affect a woman’s fertility.
The COVID vaccines were not rigorously tested, which is why they have only emergency authorization approval and not full Food and Drug Administration approval.
The vaccine will change your DNA.
The government is the one that created Covid and the Vaccine to control the population.
People deserve to have questions about the vaccines but spreading some of these examples of misinformation around platforms does not help the country get back a version of normal. Politicians should provide an open space for dialogue on both sides of the spectrums equipped with positive feedback and directions that people can take.
Covid-19 affects everybody, whether you’re Republican or Democrat because it’s a nonpartisan infector of the body. One key takeaway of the event that Paul Mango, former deputy chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services stated was that the Covid- 19 vaccine should be a topic between you and your physician and not between you and the government.
Hi Keffrey!
It is interesting to see how something as simple as a political “label” has directed populations of people towards or away from the vaccine. It is a perfect example of the hyper partisanship that is plaguing United States politics right now. Vaccine misinformation is playing a major factor in the variety of vaccination rates among the states.
I am intrigued by the part where you mentioned that this public health issue has become a bipartisan issue. Although I wish it were bipartisan, I would have to disagree with you. I have noticed that this public health issue has even further polarized our politics and is a strong indicator that we will see more polarization in the future in areas of our life we once considered to be apolitical.
https://democratic-erosion.org/2021/10/24/party-affiliation-vs-the-covid-vaccine-by-keffrey-foster/
Hi Keffrey,
Thank you for choosing this topic to write your blog post on. I think your statement “Almost every issue within the United States causes division and the COVID vaccine has been added to the list of controversy between parties” is extremely valid. We spoke a lot about partisan polarization this semester and its harmful effects on democracy. I had some minor hope that once a COVID vaccine was created, our country would unite in getting the vaccine and stopping the spread of this virus but unfortunately, that was not the case. The role both the media and Republican politicians had in spreading misinformation about the vaccine was major. Before COVID-19, anti-vaxxers certainly existed, but their platforms were not as widely available and the media and politicians have amplified these views. It begs the question, why have the Republicans taken such an anti-vaccination standpoint, when they know how harmful it is to their constituents? We have seen how effective these vaccines have been in preventing not only the spread of this virus but helping to prevent more severe infections and deaths. Republicans are so dedicated to their party that they are more willing to stand with their base than encourage constituents to get vaccinated. It is really concerning that a matter of life or death is still somehow a partisan issue.