Gadarian speaks to FiveThirtyEight about partisanship and COVID health behaviors

September 14, 2021

FiveThirtyEight

Shana Kushner Gadarian

Political Science Department

Campbell Public Affairs Institute

COVID-19

Health Policy

Political Parties

United States

FiveThirtyEight

Shana Kushner Gadarian

Polls and vaccination rates have shown Republicans are less likely to be vaccinated, and more likely to say they don’t plan to get the shot than Democrats. Shana Gadarian, professor of political science, and her colleagues have been conducting a panel survey of 3,000 Americans for the past 18 months and says there has been a partisan split on all health behaviors (not only the vaccine but also mask wearing, hand washing, visiting one’s doctor) throughout the pandemic. "Partisanship is not the sole determinant, but it is the strongest, most consistent determinant, even controlling for age, education, where people are living, how many COVID-19 cases are in the area," says Gadarian. Read more in the FiveThirtyEight article, "Republicans Aren’t New To The Anti-Vaxx Movement."