Read more about Alexander Bor here.

Despite the potential of novel vaccines to end the COVID-19 pandemic, in the past year it has become clear that deploying vaccines is a larger challenge than developing them. With large minorities remaining unvaccinated in most countries, the focus of heated discussions about roles and responsibilities in mitigating the health crisis has shifted from the state to individuals. However, these disagreements threaten to spill over to other domains of life and create a novel rift in societies. Here we quantify the breadth and depth of antipathy between vaccinated and unvaccinated citizens in 21 countries (10,740 respondents), representative of 58% of the world's population. Using conjoint experimental data we demonstrate that vaccinated people feel deep antipathy against the unvaccinated, 2.5 times more than against a traditional target: immigrants from the Middle East. This antipathy reflects, in part, inferences that unvaccinated individuals are untrustworthy and unintelligent. Antipathy towards the unvaccinated is larger in countries that suffered fewer COVID-19 deaths and that have higher social trust. In contrast, we find no evidence that unvaccinated respondents display antipathy towards vaccinated people, although they are equally prejudiced against immigrants. While previous research recommends that the authorities communicate that getting vaccinated is a moral obligation, our research documents the costs and potential limits of this strategy. Whether they deserve it or not, the prejudice faced by the unvaccinated may exacerbate their marginalization and mistrust, which are the core causes of vaccine hesitancy in the first place. The novel socio-political cleavage we document may be an indication that societies worldwide will leave the pandemic more divided than they entered it.

Despite the potential of novel vaccines to end the COVID-19 pandemic, in the past year it has become clear that deploying vaccines is a larger challenge than developing them. With large minorities remaining unvaccinated in most countries, the focus of heated discussions about roles and responsibilities in mitigating the health crisis has shifted from the state to individuals. However, these disagreements threaten to spill over to other domains of life and create a novel rift in societies. Here we quantify the breadth and depth of antipathy between vaccinated and unvaccinated citizens in 21 countries (10,740 respondents), representative of 58% of the world's population. Using conjoint experimental data we demonstrate that vaccinated people feel deep antipathy against the unvaccinated, 2.5 times more than against a traditional target: immigrants from the Middle East. This antipathy reflects, in part, inferences that unvaccinated individuals are untrustworthy and unintelligent. Antipathy towards the unvaccinated is larger in countries that suffered fewer COVID-19 deaths and that have higher social trust. In contrast, we find no evidence that unvaccinated respondents display antipathy towards vaccinated people, although they are equally prejudiced against immigrants. While previous research recommends that the authorities communicate that getting vaccinated is a moral obligation, our research documents the costs and potential limits of this strategy. Whether they deserve it or not, the prejudice faced by the unvaccinated may exacerbate their marginalization and mistrust, which are the core causes of vaccine hesitancy in the first place. The novel socio-political cleavage we document may be an indication that societies worldwide will leave the pandemic more divided than they entered it.