“These people were also found to have less practical everyday health knowledge, which suggests they may have been less well-equipped to make health decisions.” — Duke Today

Terrie Moffitt, the Distinguished Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke University, published a study on PNAS Nexus, an open-access journal from Oxford University, that “found” those hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccination scored lower on mental, reading, and verbal processing as children than their vaccine-embracing counterparts.

Duke Today, Duke University’s news hub summarized Moffitt’s conclusions in an infographic, seen below:

In the graphic, Moffitt characterizes vaccine-hesitant individuals as:

Slower learner[s]
Less verbally adept
[possesing] less practical health knowledge
[possesing] below average reading ability

Moffitt’s study specifically sought to “design effective pro-vaccination messaging” for a population she says was prone to “extreme fear and anger emotions” and “shut down mentally under stress.”

On page 4, Moffitt also characterizes employer mandates as an effective “means to motivate” employees to take the COVID-19 vaccine. However, her study seeks to find additional ways to advertise COVID-19 vaccines, as “effective public health messaging remains an essential tool to overcome hesitancy and resistance.“

Duke University’s full findings can be found on PNAS Nexus’ website under the title, “Deep-seated psychological histories of COVID-19 vaccine hesitance and resistance.”