Taking One for the (Other) Team: Does Political Diversity Lower Vaccination Uptake?

Abstract

What implications might rising animosity towards political out-partisans have for public health? Vaccination has a significant social aspect, protecting not only the vaccinated, but also those around them. While political ideology in the United States was an important driver of individuals’ willingness to get vaccinated against COVID-19, with those on the political right displaying greater hesitancy, we examine the role that political diversity has on vaccine uptake across US states and commuting zones. Using data from the Cooperative Election Study fielded on over 20,000 respondents in November 2021, and controlling for individual partisanship, we find that those who are political outliers in their community are significantly less likely to get vaccinated. By contrast, we find no equivalent negative effect for ethnic diversity. In sum, the impact of affective polarization is not limited to encounters between non-partisans; it can lead to decreased pro-social behavior that harms political friends and foes alike. Yet these behavioral effects depend on how individuals relate to their community’s predominant political ideology.