The calendar has flipped to January and the weather has turned cold in most of the country. For the past two years, that meant a Covid spike was imminent. How does 2023 look? In some ways similar and in other ways very different. But politics hasn’t gone away as a factor in how people see the virus. …
Overall, only 39% of the 65-or-older population has updated Covid booster shots. Among that same age group, more than 94% received the initial full set of Covid vaccine shots. That’s a pretty staggering drop-off for the new shot.
One lingering effect, however, is the political split on the virus. There is a noticeable divide at the state level around who is getting those booster shots when you look at the 2020 presidential results. There are 27 states and the District of Columbia where the percentage of 65-or-older vaccine takers is above the national average for that group. Of those 28 jurisdictions, three-quarters of them (21) voted for President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race. The other nine states voted for Donald Trump. CONTINUED
Dante Chinni, NBC News
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