Tyler Cowen, Columnist

Which Vaccine Did You Get? It’s a Fraught Question

The American tendency to draw unnecessary and unhelpful distinctions applies to vaccines as well.

April 23, 2021 at 12:30 PM UTC

Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, a professor of economics at George Mason University and host of the Marginal Revolution blog.

It’s only a shot.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images North America

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In matters of human affairs, there is little stranger than our tendency to draw fine distinctions of style and status where none are needed. We do it with hats, with indie rock groups, with preschool programs and, now, with vaccines.

I have observed a growing divergence of perceptions for what is essentially a mundane scientific and medical device. As I resume my in-person social life, I have been struck by how often the question arises: “So which vaccine did you get?”