Who Does COVID Hurt Most? Perceptions of Unequal Impact & Political Implications

• In Event: Policy Feedback and Health Inequity in America

Abstract

While the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on American population health has been devastating, it has not affected everyone equally. The risks of hospitalization and death from the disease are relatively low for the population as a whole, but much higher for specific subpopulations defined by age, health status, and race or ethnicity. The extent to which Americans perceive these disparities is an open question, with potentially important political implications. Recognition of unequal impacts may prime concerns about justice and fairness, making Americans more concerned and willing to support government intervention. On the other hand, belief that the pandemic primarily threatens “other people” or out-groups may reduce rather than increase a person’s concern. Partisanship and media consumption habits are likely to play a role in these perceptions, as they do in most issues related to COVID-19. In this paper, we use original survey data from the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (N=1000) to explore Americans’ perceptions of which groups are most harmed by the pandemic, the demographic and political determinants of these perceptions, and their relationship with their opinions about COVID-related restrictions such as school closures and mask mandates, as well as their voting behavior in the 2020 election. We find that, on average, people perceived that certain groups (e.g., Black Americans) were more affected, but that these group perceptions varied by demographic and political characteristics of respondents. We also find that perceptions of affected groups were related to broader political perceptions surrounding the pandemic and its mitigation. These findings contribute further evidence on the politicization of the COVID-19 pandemic, but through the particular lens of the social construction of groups affected.

Authors

• Jake Haselswerdt, University of Missouri, Columbia

• Sarah E. Gollust, University of Minnesota