Here's what vaccinated people in Canada think of those who won't get the COVID jab

New data has just confirmed what anyone who's witnessed one of the myriad anti-vax demonstrations that have taken place in recent weeks can definitely vouch for: that the chasm between the vaccinated and unvaccinated in Canada is more vast than ever, and growing.

The highly politicized race to get as many residents inoculated against the virus as possible amid the fourth wave has meant urgent and persistent entreaties from all levels of government for anyone who has yet to receive one or both doses to do so ASAP to prevent further hospitalizations, deaths and economic shutdowns. 

Though appointment bookings in the Ontario system spiked after the announcement of the province's vaccine passport, which kicked off Sept. 22, we're still far from health officials' goal of having "substantially above 85% of eligible population aged 12+ fully vaccinated."

Among those eligible who have yet to get the jab are people who have not had adequate access to the immunization or education about how and why to get it, those who are vaccine hesitant for various reasons, and those who are opposed to leaders' move to make it mandatory for certain activities in select indoor settings and/or to the shot (or all shots) in general.

Understandably, as restrictions for the unvaccinated grow more stringent, tensions have grown; and, as their protests continue, the vaccinated are getting progressively more annoyed.

A new survey from Leger on behalf of the Association of Canadian Studies shows that more than 75 per cent of Canadians (based on a sample of 1,549) think badly of the unvaxxed, considering them to be irresponsible and selfish.

On top of that, more than 66 per cent of those surveyed perceive the relationship between the two groups to be negative, while 25 per cent of those who have yet to receive the shot hold negative views of others who are likewise unvaxxed.

The association's president told the Canadian Press that he only expects this disparity to worsen beyond what he already agrees is "a high level of I would say antipathy or animosity toward people who are unvaccinated at this time."

With characters like Chris Sky at the forefront of the anti-vax movement and frontline workers and health experts on the other side, it's not hard to understand why.