Study Finds Most Highly Educated Americans Are Also the Most Vaccine Hesitant. By Unherd.
The narrative:
Most of the coverage would have you believe that the surge in cases is primarily down to less educated, ‘brainwashed’ Trump supporters who don’t want to take the vaccine. …
The data:
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh … analysed more than 5 million survey responses by a range of different demographic details, and classed those people who would “probably” or “definitely” not choose to get vaccinated as “vaccine hesitant.” …
The paper finds that there is a strong correlation between counties with higher Trump support in the 2020 presidential election and higher hesitancy in the period January 2021 — May 2021. …
But … it finds that the association between hesitancy and education level follows a U-shaped curve with the highest hesitancy among those least and most educated: …
The results of the investigation completely debunk the notion, amplified by media narratives, that only “dumb” people are vaccine hesitant.
It also demolishes NYT White House correspondent Annie Karni’s characterization of elitists who attended Obama’s 60th birthday party by as “sophisticated, vaccinated.” …
Meanwhile, the meme has been proven correct:
The well-informed are recognizing the risks of possible antibody dependent enhancement (ADE), which might make the vaccinated more vulnerable to infections at some later point — unless they have vaccination boosters every six months forever. They are also realizing the possibility that vaccinated people harbor the virus without killing it, thereby becoming a Petri dish where the virus mutates into ever deadlier forms, towards the ultimate covid.
A more optimal strategy than mass vaccination may be to vaccinate only the most vulnerable. This would limit the amount of vaccine-resistant mutations and thereby slow, if not halt, the current vaccine arms race.
It is only now dawning on most of the population that the vaccines in this first generation are not sterilizing.
