In contrast to the high vaccination rate of the senior population, the younger population has shown to be more disapproved of the idea of vaccination. 

In the U.S., only 31.6% of Americans between 18 and 24 are fully vaccinated, compared to the national vaccine rate of 49.2%. As the vaccine campaign in the U.S. has seemed to be slowing down, it has been obvious that the younger population has become an obstacle to achieve the 70% vaccination rate goal set by the Biden administration.

There are a number of reasons why the younger population is reluctant in taking the vaccines. One of the major causes is that young people generally feel that the COVID-19 pandemic has had little effect on them, creating less motivation to take the vaccine. While the senior citizens perceive vaccination as a measure that could potentially save their lives, people in their teens and twenties don’t necessarily think the same way. It is widely known that young people have a much lower chance of suffering any severe outcomes from COVID-19, and thus they have been less worried about the virus than the older population. Another reason is that young people are more skeptical of the potential side effects on their health, which have been proven to be misinformation.

In order to control the spread of the virus in teens and young adults, many colleges and companies have now made vaccination a mandatory requirement for their students and employees. These mandatory commitments have become one of the driving factors for young people to get vaccinated.

However, with the emergence of new variants such as the delta variant, youth worldwide have been affected at a much higher rate than the original COVID-19 virus. It has become more important than ever to have the younger generation vaccinated in order to prevent more outbreaks.