While most of us are anxious enough to be fully vaccinated and back in the world to consider hanging out at clinics at the end of the day to beg for spare shots, others are considering avoiding getting the vaccine altogether, according to one new study.
One survey carried out this month by NBCLX and Morning Consult out of the US found that almost a quarter of young adults said they would never get the vaccine. The survey, which spoke to 2,200 American adults, teenaged to elderly, found that 23% of 18-34-year-olds — millennials and Gen Z, basically — were opposed to being vaccinated.
In fact, despite the OK boomer stereotype of anti-vaxxer ideology, in the study’s generational breakdown, Gen Z and millennials were more likely to avoid getting vaccinated than baby boomers. Over a quarter of Gen Z (26%) and a fifth of millennials (22%) surveyed said no to the vaccine compared to just 15% of boomers.
The news comes as parts of the US open their vaccination program to younger adults in an attempt to return to normality. Yesterday, for instance, Governor Cuomo announced that all New Yorkers over the age of 16 would be eligible for a vaccine starting next Tuesday, with over 30s eligible from today.
While NBCLX’s study was relatively small in sample size, it should be noted that it’s not alone in detecting some anti-vax sentiment in young people. Although we might like to think that the only people who believe vaccines are simply 5G microchips in our bloodstreams are racist uncles on Facebook, conspiratorial thinking in young adults is in fact relatively well documented. Another poll, published back in January of this year, found that millennials were the most likely generation-wise to skip their flu shots and believe anti-vax online rhetoric. This is all TikTok’s fault, probably.
Whether those same millennials and zoomers will have a change of heart when it turns out we need vaccine passports for pubs and holidays though, remains to be seen.