States that are leading the nation in vaccination rates have generally seen a significant drop in coronavirus infection rates, and states that are trailing in inoculations are largely experiencing increases in cases, a not shocking finding in an analysis by the Washington Post.

Also not a surprising finding:  the states with the lowest percentage of the population vaccinated also overlap those state that went for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

The data has shown a sharp division in the last ten days after running somewhat parallel over the previous two months, according to the Post.  Two possible reasons exist for the divergence:  states that did not push vaccinations are also the ones that pushed for early easing of coronavirus public health restrictions and the emergence of the more contagious delta variant of the coronavirus, which is more likely to infect younger adults who are less likely to be vaccinated.

Of the 21 states and DC that are at or above the 52% national average of adults who are fully vaccinated, all were states that went to Biden in the 2020 election.  All but four have below average case increases.

Of the 17 states that had a lower percentage of vaccinations and a higher infection rate, only one (Nevada) went to Biden.  Of the 13 that had lower vaccinations and lower infection rates, only two (Georgia and Michigan) were Biden states.

When charted out, it is clear that vaccinations lead to fewer infections.  It’s also clear that Trump-supporting states are not effectively supporting programs to get their populations vaccinated.

The cases with higher-than-average infection rates include two states–Florida and Texas–that eased public health restrictions very early in the Spring and flouted their ignorance of CDC guidelines.  Nevada also opened up their tourism businesses early.

Analysts point out that the pattern is also holding for counties within states:  area that had a strong vaccine acceptance rate saw lower infection rates, virtually regardless of their populations.

Experts fear that people who have not yet gotten inoculated could develop a false sense of security which could lead to another wave of infections among that populations, particularly given the higher infection rates of new variants