Vaccine Status: How It Impacts Sympathy and Prejudice During COVID-19

Think about it: the COVID-19 vaccine brought hope, but did it also bring division? Germans in late 2021 experienced something interesting. A large representative sample of 6, 100 people showed that prejudice was higher among the vaccinated towards the unvaccinated, and vice versa. This wasn't just random; it depended on how much people identified with their vaccination status. If they didn't care much, there were no differences. But the more they identified with being vaccinated or unvaccinated, the more prejudice grew. It's like belonging to a club: the stronger the sense of belonging, the stronger the bias against those outside the club.

Let's break this down. Vaccinated people seemed to be more prejudiced towards the unvaccinated, especially if they strongly identified as vaccinated. This didn't work the other way around, though. So, what's the lesson here? Maybe it's that division doesn't come from just being vaccinated or not, but from how strongly we feel about it. Food for thought, right?

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