- People who have refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 are now facing more restrictions at jobs, entertainment venues, sporting events, and restaurants.
- The unvaccinated say the growing limitations make them feel isolated and targeted.
- Experts say it’s important to understand the feelings of the unvaccinated, but add that restrictions are necessary to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
Are we creating a two-tiered COVID-19 society?
Those on the non-vaccinated side of pandemic restrictions say it certainly feels that way.
On the other hand, government and business officials who are implementing the restrictions for health and safety reasons say they have no other choice.
Meanwhile, sociology experts say non-vaccinated people, rather than simply swayed by politics, may have been influenced by a combination of societal health shifts that began in the 1980s and by a seemingly endless modern day flow of misinformation.
One sociologist calls them “victims” but with an addendum.
“I think it’s very easy to blow off those who have chosen to be anti-vax as [uneducated, stubborn, and political],” Richard Carpiano, PhD, MPH, a professor of public policy at the University of California Riverside, told Healthline.
“But these are people who are victims. Misinformation has been circulated at almost a faster pace than the virus itself, and these people may have fallen victim to that,” he explained.
There are also some people, he added, who still have trouble accessing the vaccine or who have legitimate reasons to not be vaccinated.
The addendum? The restrictions are needed.
“You do have a choice [whether to get vaccinated],” Carpiano said. “We’ve done the carrots and they are important, but unfortunately now we have to do more.”
Source: healthline