It can be jarring the first time you see it — an angry, sexist meme about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi posted on the Facebook page of one of your favorite relatives, an affable and kindhearted soul you always considered politically moderate with a slight lean to the right.

Hearing that two of your all-time favorite musicians, Van Morrison and Eric Clapton, are anti-vaxxers who collaborated on an anti-lockdown song at the height of the pandemic was jarring, too.

Far worse, however, is learning that a relative has died from COVID-19, and that his death could have been avoided had he not rejected vaccination.

“His death was so unnecessary,” said Dennis Champney, 72, of Glen Arm in Baltimore County, when he spoke with me recently about a male cousin of his who died in mid-June in North Carolina.

More than seven months since the first vaccinations became available, less than half of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s hard to believe that so many Americans still resent and reject the efforts to get the spread of the deadly virus under control.

Maryland, fortunately, has fared better than most states. We presently rank 6th in the percentage of the eligible population that has been fully vaccinated.

Let me draw a direct line to another ranking, this one from WalletHub and based on data from numerous sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau: Maryland is second among states in educational attainment. We’re in the top 10 with Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, Washington and Minnesota.

Nine of those well-educated states, plus the District of Columbia, are ranked in the top 15 for getting their residents fully vaccinated.

Clearly, education level has a lot to do with higher vaccination rates. But the decision to get the shots is also influenced by peer pressure and leadership.

So thank your teachers, but also be grateful that you live in an atmosphere of rational political leadership and that you enjoy the company of mostly informed, levelheaded friends, neighbors and co-workers who took the COVID-19 threat and remedy seriously.