Shocking poll shows unvaccinated Republicans have 'warped' perception of vaccines' effectiveness

New polling from Gallup cited by the Washington Post's Aaron Blake reveals that unvaccinated Republican voters have a grossly distorted estimates of how effective COVID-19 vaccines are, with Blake going so far as to label them "warped."

Blake starts off by citing Gallup poll results showing the average American thinks that the vaccines are roughly 80 percent effective at preventing hospitalization.

This actually understates the real number, as the vaccines have been shown to be around 86 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations.

However, things get weird when you look at the poll results from unvaccinated Republican voters.

"The median unvaccinated Republican believes that the percentage of unvaccinated people like themselves requiring hospitalization is 5 percent," writes Blake. "How does that compare to how they believe the vaccinated fare? It's exactly the same. They believe the hospitalization rate for vaccinated people is also 5 percent. So the median unvaccinated Republican essentially says the vaccines have net-zero efficacy — i.e. there is no benefit to getting vaccinated when it comes to landing in the hospital."

Blake argues that right-wing media is largely to blame for unvaccinated Republicans being so completely misinformed about how effective the vaccines are.

"Unvaccinated Republicans are getting their information from right-wing media and social media that dwells significantly more upon — and often hyperbolizes and misconstrues — the supposed negative aspects of the vaccines," he writes.

Read the full analysis here.