Shocking New Study Blows Away the Narrative That Vaccine Hesitancy Is for the Uneducated
Watching the media and viewing online forums, you’d assume the group of people with the most hesitancy to get the vaccine would be the uneducated or even conspiracy theorists who think they’re injecting 5G magnets into the arm so the government can track you.
You’ll be surprised to find that this isn’t the case.
While people with low levels of education are still high on the charts for refusing to get the vaccine, it’s the people with the highest education levels that comprise the largest group of those who are vaccine-hesitant.
According to a study by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburg, 20.8 percent of the population with a high school level of education or less aren’t too keen on getting the vaccine. The group with some college has 18.3 percent of their group holding back. The numbers continue to dwindle to those with master’s degrees, but begin to rise again on the education level.
The group with Ph.D.’s shows that 23.9 percent of people are hesitant to get the vaccine.
One has to wonder why the most educated people in America aren’t too keen on getting the vaccine being pushed so hard by “educated” circles. To be sure, there’s more information to be gleaned here. According to the study, reasons for refusal to get the vaccine are wide-ranging, be they political beliefs to health concerns.
Where many of those with high levels of education stand on the matter weren’t covered and more information is needed before actual conclusions can be drawn.
Regardless, this is very surprising information. The popular narrative in our society is that those who are refusing the vaccine are only doing so for foolish reasons. Vaccine hesitancy is often associated with conspiracy theorists or stupid people, but it would appear this is far from the truth. The higher in education level you go, the more hesitancy you’ll find.
Interestingly, according to a physician response survey conducted in June, nearly 60 percent of doctors said they weren’t fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.
Back in January, CBS News reported that a significant amount of doctors and other healthcare workers were refusing the get the vaccine as well. Many reported being uneasy with how fast the vaccine was rushed out, or just a standard lack of information about it:
That hesitancy can be surprisingly stubborn to overcome. Surgo polled more than 2,500 U.S. health care workers to assess their comfort in getting vaccinated. At the time of the survey, administered from December 17 to 30, 53% of respondents had been offered the vaccine. Of those workers, 15%, or almost 200 people polled, said they had refused to take the vaccine, with many claiming there is insufficient evidence the treatments are effective, despite assurances otherwise by federal and state health agencies and major pharmaceutical companies.
Another 24% cited personal safety concerns, while 16% said they thought the approval process was too rushed.
Keep in mind that Ph.D. doesn’t necessarily mean a medical degree. One can achieve that level of education in a myriad of subjects so many with this level of education aren’t fully knowledgeable about the ins and outs of medicine. Regardless, hesitancy isn’t the realm of the uneducated. In fact, the highly educated own it even more.