BostonPeter
Today's U.S. Vaccination Map Follows Party Lines
NEW YORK TIMES - April 16, 2021. As a work of realism worthy of notice on Flickr, this map and information from this morning's NYTimes holds a mirror on American cognition, demonstrating the chaos inspired by the blimp formerly referred to as a "president" and the power of "centralized simplicity."
From David Leonhardt: The main reason for local variance ties to the party of local government.
"Democrats believe more strongly than Republicans in the power of government. Compare, for example, the chaos of the Trump administration’s virus response to the Biden administration’s. Democrats’ belief in the power of government certainly doesn’t ensure they will manage it competently, but it may improve the odds.
In the most successful state programs, one theme is what you might call centralized simplicity. In Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont gave priority to older residents, including people in their 50s, rather than creating an intricate list of medical conditions and job categories that qualified people for shots (and that more privileged families often figure out how to game).
In New Mexico — which has the country’s highest rate of fully vaccinated people, despite also having a high poverty rate — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has overseen the creation of a centralized sign-up system. The state has one vaccine portal that all residents can use to sign up for shots, rather than the piecemeal, confusing systems in many other states. (This is how it was initially going here in Massachusetts, a real mess under Republican governor Charlie Baker.)
South Dakota, the red state with the highest share of vaccinated residents, has also taken a centralized approach.
Vaccine rates still are not high enough — in any state — to have ended the pandemic. In Connecticut and New Mexico, combined, about 11 people have died on a typical recent day. But that toll has fallen more than 80 percent since mid-January, even more than in the rest of the country."
P.S. STATEHOOD FOR D.C.! 🇺🇸
Today's U.S. Vaccination Map Follows Party Lines
NEW YORK TIMES - April 16, 2021. As a work of realism worthy of notice on Flickr, this map and information from this morning's NYTimes holds a mirror on American cognition, demonstrating the chaos inspired by the blimp formerly referred to as a "president" and the power of "centralized simplicity."
From David Leonhardt: The main reason for local variance ties to the party of local government.
"Democrats believe more strongly than Republicans in the power of government. Compare, for example, the chaos of the Trump administration’s virus response to the Biden administration’s. Democrats’ belief in the power of government certainly doesn’t ensure they will manage it competently, but it may improve the odds.
In the most successful state programs, one theme is what you might call centralized simplicity. In Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont gave priority to older residents, including people in their 50s, rather than creating an intricate list of medical conditions and job categories that qualified people for shots (and that more privileged families often figure out how to game).
In New Mexico — which has the country’s highest rate of fully vaccinated people, despite also having a high poverty rate — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has overseen the creation of a centralized sign-up system. The state has one vaccine portal that all residents can use to sign up for shots, rather than the piecemeal, confusing systems in many other states. (This is how it was initially going here in Massachusetts, a real mess under Republican governor Charlie Baker.)
South Dakota, the red state with the highest share of vaccinated residents, has also taken a centralized approach.
Vaccine rates still are not high enough — in any state — to have ended the pandemic. In Connecticut and New Mexico, combined, about 11 people have died on a typical recent day. But that toll has fallen more than 80 percent since mid-January, even more than in the rest of the country."
P.S. STATEHOOD FOR D.C.! 🇺🇸