Inside Track
Vaccinated People Highly Prejudiced Against Unvaccinated
Individuals who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 harbor a strong, “one-sided” prejudice against those who have not, believing them to be dangerous, stupid, and untrustworthy, according to a new study from Denmark’s Aarhus University released February 18.
Researchers Alexander Bor, Frederik Jørgensen, and Michael Bang Petersen surveyed 10,740 people in 21 countries, asking them if they would “be unhappy” if a hypothetical individual randomly described as either “fully vaccinated” or “unvaccinated” were to marry one of their “close relatives.” They also asked whether the respondent feared becoming infected with COVID-19 as a result of mingling with the hypothetical individual and whether the respondent considered the individual “unintelligent” or “untrustworthy.”
The researchers found that “vaccinated people have high antipathy towards unvaccinated individuals…. On average they are 13 … percentage points more unhappy, when presented [with] an unvaccinated (versus fully vaccinated) target.” In addition, vaccinated people are significantly more afraid of being infected by unvaccinated people than by vaccinated people, even though the latter can also be quite contagious. Moreover, they perceive the unvaccinated as both incompetent (perhaps “for believing false information regarding vaccinations”) and untrustworthy (possibly “for their failure to contribute to the collective good of increased epidemic control”).
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