Vaccine hesitancy vs intelligence

Maybe those with mrna vaccine hesitancy aren't so stupid after all.
It is true that the least educated are also very reserved, but they appear to give in to pressure more quickly. Those with the highest education often stubbornly refuse. How could that be possible? (rhetorical question)

www.reddit.com...

unherd.com...

I would say it's wasn't just intelligence, but morality as well.

People who resisted the covid jabs are 'superheroes' who 'embody the best of humanity'

a reply to: zandra

I would think it would just be common sense.

Govt. and big Pharma are the least trustworthy organizations in human history.

Most vaccines require years of development, testing, and study before being approved for public use.

Removing govt guardrails from the process and pushing it after only a few months should have had everyone's BS detector going off.

a reply to: zandra

I believe it to be the opposite. The more "book smart/educated" people are, the more easily manipulated they are. Those who are "street smart" tend to use their common sense more and don't believe everything they read or hear based on their real life experiences.

a reply to: zandra

It’s got more to do with what you know and what you believe, than it has to do with how smart you are. Emotions play a big part too.

Besides there are countless examples of smart people doing stupid things.

a reply to: zandra

What I find interesting about the whole vaccine messaging debacle is the fact that the propaganda was so, so transparent. Down to the use of the phrase "vaccine hesitant" as if to imply initial hesitation, but eventual adoption. A subtle reminder via language that the globalists want resistance to seem futile.

They attempted to convey this message in many ways. Take it and we will give you a free donut, lap dance, cheeseburger, prostitute, left-handed cigarette. Take it or maybe, just maybe we won't let you go out to restaurants, concerts, events, movies or any type of gathering. Here is an instructional article from CNN which features a doctor explaining how to propagandize your "hesitant" friends into getting the vaccine.

“Another strategy is to find out what that person is interested in and what they have been missing since the pandemic began,” Bailey said. “Are they missing being with relatives? Are they missing events they used to attend? Have that person understand that the quickest way for us all to get back to those things that we miss is for 70% to 80% of the population to be vaccinated.”

For people wishing to travel abroad this summer, getting vaccinated could be their ticket to getting into some countries – or at least traveling without having to take a Covid-19 test.

www.cnn.com...

But I think the most sinister and I don't want to digress into like....the ramifications of people not just trusting that everything will be okay! But they threatened people's ability to feed themselves. Pay their bills. They threatened people's jobs.

In the quest to get more Americans vaccinated, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Vaccine mandates work.

Nowhere is that more apparent than at United Airlines. On Aug. 6, United became the first U.S. airline to tell its workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 if they wanted to keep their jobs.

The company says 99.5% of United employees have been vaccinated, not counting the roughly 2,000 who have applied for religious or medical exemptions. Elsewhere, other employers also report success with mandates. Tyson Foods, New York City schools, major hospital systems in Maine and the NBA are among those with vaccination rates topping 90%.

www.npr.org...

I want to note that two if not all three "hesitant" employees from that NPR story I linked opted for the J&J shot because they still didn't trust the MRNA.

This Nature article from a year ago explains the downfall when there is no global standard for vaccine propaganda.

More studies also need to be done on the impacts of different regulatory approaches on public confidence. For example, the United Kingdom has only just announced plans to offer COVID-19 vaccines to healthy children under 11 years of age, and the delay might have increased the reluctance of some parents to get their children vaccinated. Parents outside the United Kingdom often cite differing vaccine recommendations between countries as a basis for their hesitancy.

www.nature.com...

Because the end goal, which so far the globalists have failed to accomplish is this:

“We can’t just write off somebody’s decisions and say, well that’s their personal decision,” Robinson said. “Because it’s not just their personal decision, it’s an infectious disease. As long as we have pockets of coronavirus anywhere in the world, until we have mass global vaccination, it’s a threat.”

www.theguardian.com...

Which is why I want to highlight this piece of the article you linked:

What’s more, the paper found that in the first five months of 2021, the largest decrease in hesitancy was among the least educated — those with a high school education or less. Meanwhile, hesitancy held constant in the most educated group; by May, those with Ph.Ds were the most hesitant group. 

So not only are the most educated people most sceptical of taking the Covid vaccine, they are also the least likely the change their minds about it…

Look around you. What do you see happening? The articles I linked are mostly from one to two years ago. Why did they stop caring so much about pushing this thing on us?

No one will ever know if big Joe was given a placebo. Same for Fauci, UN, WEF, WHO and other rich and famous.

Members of Congress and Their Staff Are Exempt From Biden's Vaccine Mandate

a reply to: Deetermined

You are so correct. Book smart means nothing more than they have a good memory. However, they typically don't have common sense nor can they do stuff on their own.

I have a friend. I would say he's quite an intelligent person and well-read. Good memory, good at puzzle solving.

He chain smokes, drinks heavily, is overweight, and never exercises. He got vaccinated because he "doesn't want to die a horrible death....and it stops transmission to those around him".

Na, Me neither.

originally posted by: Deetermined
a reply to: zandra

I believe it to be the opposite. The more "book smart/educated" people are, the more easily manipulated they are. Those who are "street smart" tend to use their common sense more and don't believe everything they read or hear based on their real life experiences.

Right. It has less to do with IQ and more to do with other factors in a persons overall life. You don't have to have had a life of exceptional adversity to be "street smart". You just need a modicum of common sense, intuition, critical thinking, and a dash of cynicism.

The old saying is "Believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see." In today's world, half may be too much.

a reply to: zandra

I really hate when the discussion is predicated on anything except free will. There should be no other criteria for determining the appropriateness of any mandate.

But, unfortunately, in this world, it's ALL about some forcing their will on others...

To the point of the OP, I don't think intelligence per se is a deciding factor, but rather experience and trust. Those who have had previous negative experiences are less likely to trust and will look for some assurance or confirmation of both safety and effectiveness. On the other hand, there are too many people who trust the process and system, therefore trust that the vaccine must be safe and effective.

One doesn't really need any level of intelligence to know that ALL vaccines have adverse effects in some people, so it's also a matter of risk, and what risk someone is personally willing to take, especially in consideration of their particular needs and circumstances.

Also, anyone with a basic understanding of how -- and how long -- medications are tested knew that proper testing for the proper time periods had not been done... knew that they could not have been done because it was too soon to have done such testing. So, again, those people would factor in the experimental nature of the vaccine, and the unknown.

In terms of demanding others be vaccinated, that's all ego. Pure selfish, self-centered, self-serving ego.

a reply to: Boadicea

I think it has to do with intelligence and independent thinking. I was indeed short-sighted ... but oh well ... Those who have a PHD are intelligent. No doubt about it. More intelligent than a master? I think so. In general anyway. The big difference with a master's is that a PHD does not so much pursue that piece of paper, but thinks more critically ... (I want explain why I think this).
And about the least educated. I think in general they are the least intelligent but they don't care about 'the stupid vaccine sh*t' ... maybe that's the best way to handle this ... .

originally posted by: zandra
a reply to: Boadicea

I think it has to do with intelligence and independent thinking.

Okay. Am I correct to read this as the combination of intelligence and independent thinking? As opposed to intelligence or independent thinking?

I agree that's a favorable combination, but again, even the most intelligent and most independent thinkers have to depend on the work and the claims of others. Only so many people actually do the work of conducting a study, then report that study and its results, and then it's up to others to judge the quality of the study, its results, and its application to any individual's needs and circumstances. That judgment will come back to personal experience and trust.

I was indeed short-sighted ... but oh well ...

When you say short-sighted, what do you mean? In a medical/health sense? Society? Economic? That you did not take into account long-term adverse effects in any/all of the above?

What was your guiding principle in deciding to get the vaccine? (Assuming from what you said that you did get the vaccine...) What factor(s) made you lean towards getting the vaccine?

Full disclosure: I'm still a Covid virgin pureblood -- No Covid, no vax.

Those who have a PHD are intelligent. No doubt about it. More intelligent than a master? I think so. In general anyway. The big difference with a master's is that a PHD does not so much pursue that piece of paper, but thinks more critically ... (I want explain why I think this).

In my experience, it's more about living in the real world and getting on with making a life. I was always disappointed that my genius brother didn't get his PHD because I wanted to call him "Doc Bro." He was weary of school and anxious to make the life he'd been working so hard toward for so long.

And about the least educated. I think in general they are the least intelligent but they don't care about 'the stupid vaccine sh*t' ... maybe that's the best way to handle this ... .

I would say level of education is only one way to measure intelligence, and that education alone does not indicate intelligence. Many people can memorize facts and pass a test. Not so many people can learn the principles behind facts and data and apply those principles in other ways. An uneducated illiterate person won't be able to read any medical studies published for example, but they may have the common sense to understand that experimental vaccines with lack of proper testing is a risk he's not willing to take. Especially if he works in an industry in which mistakes are often fatal. An educated person on the other hand may have a false sense of confidence in the "process" or "science", and not even bothered checking anything further... like actually reading those studies published.

No wonder education has been put in the back in America, the more stupid children are the less inclined to research, debate, and make their own decisions, the media, the government and for-profit entities will make the decisions for them.

Yep the more educated people are the easier to become free thinkers and make their own decisions when it comes to health.

a reply to: Boadicea
You got a star from me :-)
Intelligence and independent thinking will help you draw the right conclusion from the many conflicting studies…until another study comes along that changes your mind…or confirms your first decision. In other words, your point of view may change over time. And you're not too proud to admit to yourself (and to anyone else) that you were wrong. To put it in mRNA vaccine terms: you wait until you are almost certain that the vaccine is safe and effective before you allow it into your body.
To be honest: I myself received zero mRNA vaccine. You may have concluded that I was vaccinated. But all in all, that's none of your business.
As far as 'short-sighted' is concerned, that's google translate's fault. I would translate 'kort door de bocht' and 'google translate' made 'short sighted' of it. I forgot to mention the independent thinking thing, but than again I never thought my words would be weighed on a pharmacist's scale.
ps All I want is to inform ATS members. I certainly want information and some discussion (dissection) is fine, but I'm not a pharmacist ...

a reply to: zandra

Ahhhh... gotcha now! Thank you for explaining. I didn't think I was reading it all correctly, but couldn't figure out what I was missing, and I did wonder if the damn autocorrect was acting up on you!!!

I'm glad you posted. Discussion is good! In so many things, understanding why people think the way they do and come to the conclusions that they do is very helpful in understanding the needs and priorities of others, in addition to or in combination with our own needs and circumstances, and therefore the best solutions or plans for moving forward.

a reply to: zandra
I would suggest that some of the least educated also consist of those who saw through the higher education system, found it to be largely propaganda/ brainwashing and abandoned ship. The institutionally educated who tend to do the polls and studies are not interested in accepting self learning as it would usurp their position.

My basis for this was living a few years in a van among the homeless and squatters. The vast majority of these people were there because they were disillusioned by society. Most were highly intelligent though some were undermined mental illness and addictions. They saw the scam for what it is and are skeptical of government/corporations. Education is no measure of wisdom or intelligence but, of course, one does need to be intelligent to get the education.

originally posted by: zandra
Maybe those with mrna vaccine hesitancy aren't so stupid after all.
It is true that the least educated are also very reserved, but they appear to give in to pressure more quickly. Those with the highest education often stubbornly refuse. How could that be possible? (rhetorical question)

www.reddit.com...

unherd.com...

I think it's a simple equation: A) For years, the media has groomed everyone about "conspiracy theory" and "anti-vaxxers" to the point where as soon as people hear these words, it's grounds for automatic dismissal of whatever the information is. B) People who assume something is "conspiracy theory" smugly pat themselves on the back for not falling for any of it, while simultaneously knowing nothing about it and refusing to investigate it. C) They hang on to these notions despite any other evidence and refuse to budge, obstinate.

The amount of people I've heard say, "Well if you look at the science of vaccines, their success is obvious." If I then ask these people, "Okay, tell me about the science," about 95% of the time, they have none - they know nothing. They ASSUME it exists because they're told it does.

Thank you all for your answers.
The good side of my heart says we are one big family of ATSers :-)
If I understand my own post correctly (I read the study diagonally) than I conclude that of the 10.000 phd's there were 1 in 4 who were hesitant about the vaccines. Approximately. So please don't shoot me for generalizing ...
One in four?? I must be wrong because where I live (Belgium) the number must be say 1 in 50 (general population, because there is no such study that takes phd' s apart). The 1 in 50 is my own guess. But I think it must be far more than 50 ... I even for a long time didn't dare to say I was vaccine hesitant. Now I surely dare to say it, but I don't. (I think now a lot of people regret having the vaccine ... so I don't want to exaggerate it) By the way, I don't rule out that I myself will regret not being vaccinated. You never know.
Note that if my feeling is correct then the tide is turning even here ... say it slowly ...