Pandemic politics in Ohio came to a head last week as protesters swarmed the Statehouse to cheer on a bill that would prevent schools, businesses and other institutions from requiring vaccines.
Supporters of the bill asked lawmakers not to take away their freedom, with many saying they're against mandates but not vaccines. Medical experts implored them to consider the health ramifications as the delta variant sweeps the state.
It was the latest chapter in a public health crisis that's been politicized by voters and politicians alike, and observers say that polarization is helping fuel a new wave of COVID-19 hospitalizations that could've been prevented.
"It’s led to unnecessary setbacks in the vaccination campaign and our ability to resume normal social life," said Berkeley Franz, a community health professor at Ohio University. "There have been more disruptions than necessary."
Pandemic politics increase vaccine hesitancy
Ohio reported over 3,000 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, and more than 2,400 people were hospitalized.Columbus hospital system OhioHealth announced last week that it would temporarily halt elective procedures that require an overnight stay. Intensive care units at some hospitals are filling up again.
As of Sunday, roughly 60% of people ages 12 and up had received at least one dose of the vaccine.
"Getting COVID-19 is a gamble and an unknown, actually more so than getting the vaccine," said Columbus Health Commissioner Mysheika Roberts.
Vaccine hesitancy can be complicated. Some said they were waiting for the COVID-19 shots to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration, a milestone Pfizer reached last week. People of color distrust the medical system after years of racial discrimination, although a recent NBC News poll found Black Americans had been vaccinated at higher rates than whites and Latinos.
But people are also taking cues from politicians who have used COVID-19 as a wedge issue to fan the flames and make their opponents look bad, said Paul Beck, a professor emeritus at Ohio State University.
"Depending upon how this pandemic plays out over time, I think it’s quite possible that the Republican Party and many of its politicians are going to get trapped in this anti-science, anti-vaccine area that’s going to look worse and worse over time," he said.
The notion that people don't want to be told what to do isn't new. Americans generally complied with mask-wearing during the pandemic of 1918 and 1919, but some became frustrated and even formed an Anti-Mask League in response to a mandate in San Francisco.
Now, though, Franz said the United States is more polarized than it's ever been. She believes proposed policies like House Bill 248 — the bill that drew people to the Statehouse — have public health consequences, and said leaders have failed to protect children and those who can't be vaccinated for medical reasons.
"Those people are the ones that are really suffering right now," she said.
What Ohio politicians are saying
The rhetoric surrounding the controversial bill is also apparent in Ohio's high-profile contests for governor and U.S. Senate.
Gov. Mike DeWine faces a GOP primary next year largely because of outrage over his COVID-19 response. The state Legislature curbed his power to issue additional orders. DeWine has said all along he opposes a state vaccine mandate, but he's encouraged people to get the jab to help prevent further hospitalizations and deaths.
DeWine's opponents, meanwhile, are running on a platform against government overreach.
"I believe it is everyone’s choice," former U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci said in an email. "It would be my responsibility as governor to make sure people have adequate information to make an informed decision."
Cries of personal freedom are also dominating the Senate race as GOP candidates work to appeal to voters who are frustrated with elected officials 18 months into the pandemic. Jane Timken claimed that COVID-19 isn't a risk to young people, and Josh Mandel recently said requiring kids to wear masks is a form of child abuse. Others have peddled the debunked assertion that illegal immigration is driving the increase in cases.
In a statement, Timken disclosed that she's inoculated against COVID-19 but said she opposes mask mandates and vaccine passports.
"Americans are smart and can make their own decisions for themselves and their families, and it's past time we put a stop to the government overreach that has run rampant in the COVID-era," she said.
Other GOP candidates echoed that argument in response to questions from USA TODAY Network Ohio, although investment banker Mike Gibbons added that businesses are free to choose the customers they wish to serve.
Their Democratic opponents see it differently.
"Our leaders' top priority needs to be protecting our health and economy, and the best way to do that is by allowing businesses to be free to do what is necessary," attorney Morgan Harper said in an email. "The truly 'pro-freedom' position is to ensure that we are all free to resume our lives and go about our business without fear of contracting a deadly virus."
'What's the long-term effect?'
Observers see a double standard in the push by small-government Republicans to dictate what businesses can't do, a point of contention for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Ohio Business Roundtable — both of which are led by former GOP congressmen and oppose House Bill 248.
"I don’t want the government telling me what to do," said Republican strategist Mike Hartley. "As a small business owner, I don’t want the government telling me how to run my business."
Hartley believes these GOP populists — he won't call them conservatives — are indicative of a problem on both sides of the political aisle. Increasingly, he said, Republicans and Democrats conform to their party's narrative and play fast and loose with the truth.
In the end, Hartley said, officials on both sides of the aisle will be judged for their role in the pandemic and any missteps they made — including those who pandered to anti-vaccine voters.
"They want to dance with these folks for a short-term gain, but what’s the long-term effect?" he said.
Meanwhile, health care workers are worn down and frustrated with the deluge of misinformation they must navigate with their patients. Roberts, the health commissioner, said it's disheartening to see a deadly pandemic politicized and the integrity of medical experts question by people who rely on the internet for information.
It's particularly difficult for frontline staff who have worked tirelessly since the pandemic began, Roberts said.
"It’s frustrating for them that they’ve put so much time and effort into their work to try to help people," she said, "when those same people that they’re trying to help are resentful and bitter and dismissive to the information we have or the guidance we’re trying to provide."
Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
