This article originally appeared on BeMedWise. An up-to-date version can be found here.

The response to COVID-19 is still a political issue and the resulting division between political parties within the United States has persisted and is still having an adverse effect on the pandemic. The division began almost as soon as the presence of the novel coronavirus was confirmed in this country.

Much of this division was the result of some politicians downplaying the pandemic for political reasons by giving false information: it doesn’t look good to voters to have a major pandemic during your term in office. Another contributor is the fact that politicians and scientists don’t speak the same language when it comes to science. While this is true of most people and scientists, politicians have had an undue influence on public opinion when it comes to the ongoing pandemic and the interpretation of science.

Although there is some overlap, the major issues dividing Republicans and Democrats are:

• Interpretation of the impact, risk, and severity of COVID-19 in their lives;
• Vaccine effectiveness, use, and mandates;
• The best way to achieve herd immunity and the end of the pandemic;
• Use of preventive measures, such as masks and social distancing;
• Use of unproven therapies;
• The extent to which they use faith, emotion, and/or evidence to make decisions;
• The level/type of risk and inconvenience they will tolerate; and
• Individual choice and level of responsibility during a public health emergency.

Recognizing that