Understanding the trouble spot: Does vaccination status identification fuel societal polarization?

As vaccination campaigns for COVID-19 fail to achieve sufficient immunization rates, public discord between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated has intensified globally. To explore the idea that identifying with one’s vaccination status plays a key role in this societal polarization, the study draws on unique survey data from large samples of vaccinated (n = 3,275) and unvaccinated (n = 2,042) respondents in Germany and Austria. The findings confirm that vaccination status identification (VSI) explains substantial variance in a range of polarizing attitudes and behaviors, indicating its importance for increasing conflicts between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. VSI was also found to relate to higher psychological reactance toward mandatory vaccination policies among the unvaccinated and to their intention to resist and evade such regulations. The results highlight a need to de-escalate this polarized situation as a prerequisite for discussion and implementation of more widely accepted and effective vaccination strategies to mitigate the pandemic.