1 in 7 people have dumped their friends because of their stance on the COVID-19 vaccine

NEW YORK – The coronavirus vaccine has been an incredibly controversial topic, and now it’s even ending friendships. Vaccinated Americans have quit smoking with friends who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a new survey.

A survey of 1,000 Americans – conducted by OnePoll on September 2 – looked at why people have ended their friendships in the past year and a half. The results show that 16% of those polled have eliminated three friends from their lives since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

Of those who have ended a friendship, 66% are vaccinated and 17% never plan to be vaccinated. Fourteen percent of those vaccinated – about 1 in 7 – say they have separated from friends who did not want to be vaccinated. Even “Friends” and “The Morning Show” star Jennifer Aniston claims she ended her friendships because of her beliefs about vaccination.

Ugly ruptures in the era of the pandemic

The survey found other reasons why friends broke up – whether vaccinated or not – including having different political views (16%), dating or sleeping with an ex (15%), making up rumors about them (12%) and believing someone is a liar (7%).

Likewise, the vast majority of people vaccinated (97%) consider their ex-friends to be “full-fledged anti-vaccines” and say they have never been able to make them understand the importance of the vaccine. These respondents also explained why their old friends didn’t want to be vaccinated – from not believing in vaccines to pretending the COVID-19 vaccine didn’t work.

On the flip side, many unvaccinated people say their decision is a personal choice because they worry about potential side effects. Others add that they are in good health and believe they do not need the vaccine, while some have expressed suspicion of the vaccine rollout.

Vaccinations are becoming more and more political

The study also looked at how different political parties view the vaccine as the politicization of the pandemic continues to increase. A majority of Democrats (81%) are fully vaccinated, along with 64% of Republicans, 69% of Independents and 41% of third party supporters.

Meanwhile, seven percent of Democrats are still unvaccinated, followed by 27 percent of third-party supporters, 23 percent of Republicans, and one in five independents.

Surprisingly, four in ten Democrats (41%) think society is too critical of unvaccinated people, and more than half of Republicans (57%) echo this sentiment. However, 12% of Democrats and 5% of Republicans disagree that society is tough on unvaccinated people.

Overall, six in 10 vaccinated adults feel “very confident” in their decision to get vaccinated, compared to one in three who feel the same about not getting vaccinated.

When it comes to where people get their vaccine information, the top spots are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (45%), their doctor or local clinic (42%), medical experts such as their health commissioner. state (39%), and news (31%).

Many Americans also say they do their own research online (26%) and 19% take to social media for their COVID-19 information.