Jennifer Aniston has separated from people who refused to be vaccinated. Why the COVID-19 crisis continues to trigger social divides.

With nearly 30% of American adults unvaccinated – and a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation revealing that 46% of unvaccinated adults have no intention of changing their minds – some of those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 vaccines draw a line in the sand. Among them is actress Jennifer Aniston, who revealed in a new interview with In the style that she cut ties with the people in her life because they won’t get vaccinated.

“There’s always a great group of people who are anti-vaccine or just don’t listen to the facts,” Aniston said in the magazine’s September issue. “It’s such a shame. I just lost a few people in my weekly routine who refused or didn’t disclose [whether or not they had been vaccinated], and that was unfortunate. I think it is your moral and professional obligation to inform, as we are not all crammed and tested every day. It’s tricky because everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but a lot of opinions are based on nothing other than fear or propaganda. “

Aniston, who has used his platform to encourage both masking and vaccinations throughout the pandemic, did not say whether those people were friends, employees or service providers. But she is certainly not the only person vaccinated to take a tough stance, especially as the Delta variant is causing further spikes across the country.

Bars, gyms – in New York you will now need to show proof of vaccination to exercise, dine, or watch a movie indoors – colleges and workplaces, from hospitals to Disney parks, establish every day new vaccination mandates. Even working in a band can be subject to rigorous standards, as Offspring drummer Pete Parada recently discovered. This week, the musician posted a lengthy statement on Twitter announcing the “unfortunate and difficult news” that he had been sidelined from the pop-punk group’s upcoming tour because he chose not to be vaccinated. (Parada cited his medical history with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) as the root of his vaccine hesitation, although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that people who have previously had GBS can still be vaccinated against COVID-19, adding that “to date no cases of GBS have been reported following vaccination in clinical trial participants of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.”)

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Parada noted in his announcement that he was “unable to comply with what is increasingly becoming an industry mandate.” The same Kaiser Family Foundation survey cited above, meanwhile, found that 3% of all respondents would get vaccinated if needed.

For now, many people – and their places of work, study and play – are at an impasse. It stands to reason that the social conflicts between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated that we have already seen (and reported previously) will continue to wreak havoc on relationships, both personal and professional, although experts advise against perceiving these limits as a limitation. personal attack.

“Everyone must navigate their own level of comfort and stand up for their own safety and sense of security,” therapist Hannah Tishman, vice president of operations for New York-based Cobb Psychotherapy, told Yahoo Life. “It may look different to each person based on their own lived experiences, health history, and personal beliefs and values. Everyone has had a different experience during the pandemic, with some having experienced a higher level of trauma. It is important that we come from a place of understanding, not judgment, when we learn about the choices of others regarding their immunizations.

“What makes one person feel safe can put another at risk, and vice versa,” she adds. “There are strong feelings involved as we recover from the pandemic and it can be helpful to express what makes you feel safe and your own needs to your loved ones, instead of projecting onto them what you expect. others.”