Politics in the Medical Field: An In-Depth Analysis of Political Polarization and its Influence on Vaccine Efficacy in Urban Metropolitan Areas

Vaccine hesitancy has become a significant public health issue anew,
worsened by political polarization and misinformation. My study aims to
investigate this issue by examining the medical implications of political
campaigns on vaccine hesitancy. I utilized a mixed-methods approach,
involving qualitative surveys and quantitative correlation and regression
studies to analyze the relationship between political polarization and
vaccine refusal. Surveys were conducted with adults in the greater Houston
area using systematic random sampling. My findings revealed a moderate
positive correlation with a correlation coefficient of 0.462 between political
campaigns and vaccine hesitancy, suggesting that individuals with stronger
political inclinations showed stronger vaccine skepticism. Age-related
differences also emerged from the regression analysis, where younger
individuals claimed personal preference in vaccination decisions while
older respondents exhibited greater trust in medical professionals, such as
their doctors. This supports the hypothesis that political polarization has
contributed to vaccine hesitancy by causing distrust in medical institutions
and aligns with the existing body of literature in the field of healthcare
research. While my research provides useful insights, limitations such as
sample size and the inability to establish objective and direct causation
indicate the need for further longitudinal and experimental studies in
future research.

Author(s): Jeffrey Liu

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