Anti vaxxers / Covid deniers - your opinion

Feel free to shout me down if that rocks your boat, I have a thick skin. But am intrigued to hear others’ opinions.
The few Covid deniers and anti-vaxxers I know have recently quietened down, apart from posting the odd picture of what I imagine are random crowds protesting abroad, where apparently the population are more ‘awake’ than in the uk. Gone is their YouTube research and mocking of the mainstream press while claiming knowledge of a convincing alternative narrative, not quite sharing it with the world though for some reason.
Anyway, I digress. In my small sample these people are mainly middle aged women who I think have latched onto alternative therapies as a way of feeling special and superior to others. They are exclusively people that haven’t achieved anything out of the ordinary in life and also all spend their time criticising others, often calling those without their special knowledge ‘sheep’. They also all give the impression of being dissatisfied with their lives.
Is this just in my circle or have others noticed a similar pattern?
And yes, I’m beyond annoyed and fed up with them while also finding them quite entertaining and amusing. I’m all for having an open mind and researching stuff, making an informed decision, but wouldn’t ever believe I know more than reputable scientists and definitely don’t regardYouTube as the most reliable source.