Vaccine Lines and Line Jumpers: Mapping a New Metaphor from an Interview-Based Study about COVID Vaccination

Abstract

This article considers how the metaphor of the vaccine line and the subjectivity of the line jumper came to frame COVID vaccination experiences. Drawing on analysis of interviews (n = 24) with self-identified vaccine line jumpers, this article reports on three narratives that arose across interviews: (1) vaccine line jumping is a necessary strategy of health-advocacy, (2) vaccines are personal healthcare tools earned through individual merit, and (3) vaccine refusal is a problem of belief rather than access. Findings advance research about the personalization of vaccination and public health while contributing insights about the constrained subjectivities that people adopt in individualistic health landscapes.