Pro-Trump counties now have far higher COVID death rates. Misinformation is to blame — NPR

He killed the dinosaurs, personally, with a ball peen hammer, slowly. So yes.

COL (Join to see) - For far and away the majority of people who get COVID it is no worse than a case of the flu. Hardly a reason individually or collectively light ourselves on fire and panic. Every effort should have been put into protecting the demographics where COVID is a real threat. For the rest of us it is no scarier than the flu or pneumonia.

Right but you fail to understand is how viruses and public health actually work Maj John Bell. You cannot stop a virus from select populations without mass mitigation strategies. I am a libertarian conservative who wants as little gov outreach as possible. But I’m also a scientist so facts speak louder than politics. In order to protect grandma you need to vaccinate junior. It’s that simple.

COL (Join to see) - I understand quite clearly how viruses and public health work. I have a grandson is at high risk because of pulmonary problems. His parents made the difficult decision to separate him from his siblings and place him with me and my wife for the duration. I do what is necessary to protect him. I don't demand you protect him.

Additionally, I run a dairy farm. Keeping my herd and my product protected from transmissible disease (viral and bacterial) has been a daily concern and part of my daily regimen for more than two decades. One case case of Caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) and I'm out about six figures in livestock lost, iost production and clean-up before it completes its runs through my herd.

I note that you are an emergency physician, do you really believe that your knowledge of the transmission of viral and bacterial disease renders my schooling and experience insignificant? If so, you haven't spent much time with the USDA, state and county health going through your underwear drawer.

And what about you Groth? You trust the stable genius or somebody who actually knows what they are talking about.

SFC Randy Hellenbrand - I trust only myself brother.

I have all the shots because I would rather not be as sick as if I hadn't taken them. I also wear my mask while in public spaces. why? Because I am not only protecting myself but others in my family. Never understood the reason why one wouldn't want to protect themselves.

SP5 Dennis Dorsey - True brother.

In case you can't tell, am big on looking at the actual data.

And this story about Florida does not necessarily refute the other one.

First, the story on OP is looking at DEATHS, not cases. Which, honestly, is probably a better indicator of the severity of the COVID problem. (And yes, I am sure, that if a red state has a spike in case count, even if not accompanied by a spike in deaths, the MSM will be all over it, but I cannot control MSM.)

Second, OP story went by counties, not states. It is entirely possible (I do not have the data so I will not say it is or is not true) that places like Miami are helping keep Florida's rate down despite higher rates in more rural areas (which would support the OP story). It is also possible, as the story only looked at counties that went "strongly" for either Trump or Biden (with no indication of how that is defined) and Florida is a purple state, that the majority of Florida was not even part of the OP story. Or Florida could be an outlier.

So it is entirely possible that both stories are true, looking at different data to draw different conclusions. And if That is is the case, I would say both stories are valid, and when looked at together, the conclusion is:

Get vaxxed. Seriously, go do it. But we aren't going to force it on you, and we aren't going to make your life miserable if you don't. COVID might. But we (the government) won't.

If one doesn't have the answer that they like, just keep looking. Someone will align with your beliefs.