More than 84% of the population in Vermont have received at least one dose of the covid vaccine. However, the health officials are not slowing down yet in the vaccination drive, according to the foresight of Dr. Micheal Levine.
Young Adults A Tough Nut To Crack; States Continue The Effort To Vaccinate
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Although the state ranks first among the peer states in terms of vaccination, there is one section of the community that is holding it out, not just for the state but for all the health officials across the US.
Three southern states and one western state have less than half of their adult population vaccinated and such disparity in the rate of vaccination dodged the government’s foresight of getting more than 70% population vaccinated before the 4th of July.
Young adults and vaccination rates
According to the latest published reports of the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of vaccination among young adults has been persistently low.
On the basis of the weekly pace of ongoing vaccination, by the end of August, only 57.5% of the particular demographic group under the age of 30 years will receive at least one dose of the vaccine.
States are introducing a variety of incentives to encourage the group to opt for vaccination, but the general intent to get immunized is low among the age group compared to the other age groups.
For example, Hawaii has introduced cash incentives on getting vaccinated and California is issuing food coupons at McDonald’s for getting the shots.
New Jersey has organized a vaccination event at a balloon and rib festival and termed it Rock the Shot, while in West Virginia, a savings bond worth $100 was issued for the residents between the age of 16-35 years who got immunized.
Taking a traditional road
While some states are turning to incentives, there are states who are trying a more traditional approach.
Colorado, for example, is calling out all individuals above the age of 18 years who have not received their doses and scheduling them for the shots.
Arkansas is a state where 51% of the adults have received their first dose of vaccines, and the state officials are tackling the misinformation on social media regarding vaccination to stop the youth from shying away from the shots.
The authorities are specifically turning their attention to social media circulations as the majority of young adults receive their information from such platforms.
Spreading awareness
To spread awareness about the benefits of getting vaccinated and the risks associated with skipping the doses, the federal authorities have appointed individuals who ate popular among the age group, like college athletes.
According to Molly Howell, the program manager at the department of health immunization in North Dakota believes that spreading awareness about the diseases itself will also motivate more and more young adults to turn to vaccination.
Howell believes that even after a year into the pandemic, the younger generation does not take the pandemic seriously typically because they experience much milder symptoms and health risks.
Making the vaccine mandatory
According to a tally maintained by the Chronicle of Higher Education, more than 500 colleges and universities across the states are making vaccines mandatory before the students can return to their regular campus life.
For educational institutions that are not making immunization mandatory, more and more campaigns will be carried out to encourage the students to get the shots.
However, despite such varied and widescale efforts, experts believe that there is no single magic formula that will work and push this particular section of society to opt for immunization.
As Howell implies, everybody can have their own reason not to get vaccinated and some of that can be out of control of the authorities.
Just as some people can take some more time to get convinced for the shots, the hard reality is that there is not much time, concludes Howell.
