Why Is There Such A Gender Gap In COVID-19 Vaccination Rates?

[Demovictory9]

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-is-there-such-a-gender-gap-in-covid-19-vaccination-rates/

Experts worried about low turnout among women, who reported significantly more vaccination hesitancy than men prior to the vaccine rollout. And public health officials warned that non-Hispanic Black Americans would be more hesitant than other racial groups because of the historical abuses and exclusion they’ve experienced at the hands of medical professionals and researchers.

But the data on actual gender differences in vaccination rates veered in an unexpected direction, leaving an entire group of vaccine-hesitant Americans largely untargeted: men.

As of Monday morning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that nearly 9.5 million more women than men have been vaccinated in the U.S.,1 and in the 42 states2 that collect gender data, a greater share of women are getting the vaccine as well. The magnitude of the gender gap varies from state to state but has hovered just below 10 percentage points on average over the past month.

According to experts and the latest research, the reasons why we are seeing this persistent gap are complicated. On the surface, it’s a matter of which groups were targeted early on, but when we look deeper, other behavioral and ideological divides between women and men appear to be at play. These four hypotheses may explain the imbalance.

Hypothesis 1: Early Access
Hypothesis 2: Traditional Masculinity
Hypothesis 3: Preventive Health Behaviors
Hypothesis 4: Political Ideology and Susceptibility to Conspiratorial Thinking

[Binkie The Clown]

1. My right-wing, conspiracy-loving sister is anti-vax and her hubby had it pretty bad. nt

[Bucky]

23. Either she's in denial...

...or she's playing the long game

[SharonAnn]

2. All of the above hypotheses. And a risky Behavior.

[NoRethugFriends]

3. Men are, on average, dumber than women. (nt)

[TraceNC]

9. Totally agree with this.

Just to give one example:

Over the years I have changed to all women doctors. I find them smarter, more aggressive and persistent (I mean that in terms of how they pursue an answer to a medical issue) and they possess a better “bedside manner.” I’m speaking generally, of course, and specific to my own personal experiences, but that’s what I’ve found and that’s what I go with. Would I refuse a male doctor? Absolutely not. But given the choice, I’ll take a woman doctor every time.

[Walleye]

17. My doctors are women. One thing they can do better than men is listen

[DURHAM D]

4. I would also like to see the gender stats on the

shingles shot
flu shot
pneumonia shot
tetanus shot

for seniors.

I know several men who have not received any of the above.

[Chainfire]

6. My lady doctor doesn't give me much of a choice.....

She says you NEED this shot and tells me to hit the lab on the way out, and I say, "Yes ma'am Doctor." For an old veteran, lifetime construction worker, and as some who self identifies as a "manly-man," I can be a real wimp sometimes.

[efhmc]

14. You are not a wimp. You are a person who listens to someone who is much smarter than you.

If that is a wimp, it is a smart one.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

20. I've had pneumonia shots

And tetanus.
Get my flu shot every year.

Need to get the shingles shot.

[CousinIT]

22. I have male relatives who get none of that. I get them ALL.

So does my sister. These men are seniors.

[Chainfire]

5. I Like two and four.

I think that overall, women have better sense than men. We men can be so insecure in our masculinity that we are always trying to compensate by doing risky "manly" stuff, like laughing in the face of Covid...after all, its just the flu. You can also bet your ass that a lot of men who got the vaccination will not admit it in front of their peers.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. That's Where I'm At, Too

For #2, I have this:
One of our regular group (of 9-12) at the golf course insisted he wouldn't get it.
Didn't need it, wasn't afraid, his immune system was strong...
It was NOT a politics thing.
He got the vax. Why? His wife made him!
So, much for the macho thing!

[betsuni]

7. Because women are more likely to be responsible for taking care of others.

Who would keep everything going if they got sick or died?

[Beringia]

8. Stubborness

It is anecdotal, but my father used to go to big fairs to sell eucalyptus oil. He had a much easier time talking to the women. They were more open to a sales pitch. The men would be harder to engage.

[Hortensis]

11. I assumed more women got themselves vaccinated than men.

Women do more responsible, sensible things at higher rates than men. They're overall slightly less conservative then men, less vulnerable to derailing themselves by responding to appeals to their negative and less admirable traits. Not much, but it's a consistent pattern.

[Walleye]

19. And they should be trusted to deal with their own pregnancies sensibly

[Sgent]

35. Early in the vaccine

rollout it was noticed that a lot of women of childbearing age were not getting the shots due to pregnancy, trying to get pregnant, fears about reproductive issues, etc.

This was mostly noticed because the 1st people to get vaccines (and easily studied) were hospitals with a large female employee base.

It seems like more traditional issues have now taken over.

[Hortensis]

36. And I'd probably have been among them -- if I were pregnant,

wait while a bigger body of data was collected. After all, I added eggs to my diet even though I hated them. And milk. For my baby.

[NH Ethylene]

12. Ironically, men are significantly more likely to die from Covid.

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/men-more-susceptible-to-serious-covid-19-illnesses

[LisaL]

13. More men than women are Republicans.

We know a large number of republicans will refuse to vaccinate.

[JCMach1]

18. This is the correct answer...

I also consistently get surprised by the vaccine opposition... Apparently it's also a thing among non-Xtian fundamentalists of several religions.

Not to mention anti-vaxxer conspiracy nuts on the right AND left

[former9thward]

29. It is not the answer.

Blacks and Hispanics are the two demographic groups which have the lowest vacinnation rates.

[pnwmom]

31. It is, for explaining the gender disparity. Black people, however, have historical

reasons for being suspicious of any vaccinations the white medical establishment is trying to promote.

And many Hispanics are undocumented and unwilling to risk being identified.

[Cinnamonspice]

26. Bingo.

I think that has a lot to do with it.

That and there's probably more men than we realize who are scared of needles. lol.

[KentuckyWoman]

15. I've lost count of how many people under 40 have told me

they won't get a vaccine because they think it will damage their testes / ovaries. I can't get a straight answer on where it came from, but I'd assume some idiotic facebook or instagram thing.

I'm not trashing a generation. I can't exactly brag. My generation though menstruating women were toxic. In fact, it was so ingrained that I remember my aunt putting some of her "dirty rags" and burying them in the garden to keep the raccoons out.

[Cinnamonspice]

28. I have a friend like that.

I tried to show her where medical professionals were saying it doesn't hurt fertility or cause miscarriage. That's after she told me to "do your own research."

She then was like "Oh, you need to look here."


She was taken in by that QAnon garbage. I could tell earlier last year from how she kept posting "save our children."


She's so brainwashed now. She's not wanting to be friends with me anymore and her husband has left her. The brainwashing is so strong.

[phylny]

32. We're expecting our first grandchild in August and

our daughter didn’t get vaccinated right away at the beginning of her pregnancy, but when she hit about 6 months, she asked the ob-gyn if she should get it and she was told Covid brings with it a risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature labor. Of course she got the vaccine.

[Cinnamonspice]

34. Good for her.

I hope to see a lot more vaccinated as time goes on.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

16. Masculinity BS is my main suspicion.

The kind of guys parodied by the character Ron Swanson in "Parks and Recreation".

[Ms. Toad]

21. Stereotypically (and still largely likely true) -

Women are still more likely to provide most of the health care for children - which includes vaccinations. So there is a lot more habit of getting vaccinations (personally or for their children), and trusting them, among women than men.

[Hugin]

24. There's definitely a gender gap in persons CATCHING the COVID virus...

in some areas.

As high as 55% female to 49% male. Which, I've been watching for months.

My hypothesis on this is because females are traditionally caregivers and work in professions where the likelihood of exposure is higher.

[brush]

25. Translation: Right wing, macho, white males.

[former9thward]

30. Really?

Then why are the two demographic groups with the lowest vaccination rates Blacks and Hispanics?

[brush]

33. That's been known. But did you read the surprising, unexpected demographics. Carry on.

Magats following trumps lead.

[struggle4progress]

27. "All .. worried about .. the vaccine .. facilitating .. socialism, and two .. believed

.. COVID-19 vaccines contain .. tracking devices"