Category: World News

While millions of Americans roll up their sleeves to get a Covid-19 vaccine, to prevent the dangers from new strains and want to return to normal life, the rate of vaccination among young people in this country is still not very positive. Procrastination on vaccination among young people is a big reason why President Joe Biden’s administration has not achieved its goal of vaccinating 70% of the adult population before Independence Day 4/7.

In the context of the Delta mutation spreading rapidly in the US, young people are gradually becoming a “weak point” in the strategy of building herd immunity that the Biden administration is pursuing.

US health agencies are trying to convince people in the 18-29 age group to receive vaccines more actively. Experts have warned that only herd immunity with a vaccine can bring the US through the pandemic, and at the same time be able to fight the Delta mutation or new mutations of nCoV in the future.

General, Young people in the US still have a subjective mentality and most think they are hard to beat by the virus. Many people do not feel that vaccination is necessary because they think that the risk of severe disease when infected with nCoV is not as high as other age groups. In addition, young people are more exposed to controversial information about vaccines through social networks, including unfounded rumors.

“The problem is that young people move and socialize often,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the department of public health at Brown University. He noted that “a young person is more likely to be in contact with other people than a 75-year-old elderly person” and the risk of spreading the virus is higher if not vaccinated.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at the end of June said that the 18-29 age group had the lowest vaccination rate in the country. About 38% of people in this age group received at least one dose of the vaccine. This figure in the elderly group reaches more than 80%.

“I’m 18 and haven’t really had any health problems,” Wyatt Lutz, a physical education student at South Georgia University, said, explaining he doesn’t plan on getting vaccinated. “I’m not too worried about the epidemic. I’m not afraid of it.”

However, Lutz himself and his peers looked no further than personal safety. According to medical experts, young people are not in the risk group of serious illness when infected with nCoV, but still have the ability to unknowingly spread the virus. The risk is higher when the infected person has not been vaccinated or does not take precautions such as wearing a mask and distancing.

Besides, even if there are no symptoms, the body of patients with Covid-19 is still likely to have long-term health effects. Some sequelae such as shortness of breath, fatigue and cognitive problems have been noted by doctors in young people who have been infected with the virus.

In the early stages of the vaccination strategy, when several new vaccines are approved by US regulators, the priority group is frontline health care workers and the elderly, who are at risk of contracting Covid-19. higher. Americans at that time had a high sense of urgency with vaccines.

It was not until April, when the vaccine supply was abundant, that many states began to expand vaccination for young people.

According to surveys compiled by the CDC, adults between the ages of 18 and 39 in the US are now psychologically concerned about vaccine side effects. A part of young people still lacks confidence in vaccines. They want more time to monitor the safety of the vaccine or simply do not feel the need to vaccinate.

Liz Hammel, vice president and director of survey research for the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that relationships have a significant impact on vaccination procrastination among young people. About 40% of 18-29 year olds surveyed by the foundation in June admitted that most of their friends weren’t vaccinated.

The US government is trying to clear this “bottleneck” to ensure herd immunity, especially before the Delta mutation with a higher infectivity is spreading across the country. Last week, President Biden sent a message of encouragement to vaccinate directly to young people, urging people to think carefully about the consequences if they hesitate.

The federal system is ramping up propaganda on powerful social platforms, even online services for video games like Twitch or Riot Games.

The White House has supported training programs and materials for higher education institutions in the United States, seeking to persuade more students and trainees to change their minds about vaccines. Some schools also organize student committees, call directly to encourage friends to participate in vaccination.

US health officials have repeatedly emphasized the benefits of vaccines more important than concerns about side effects in young people. According to Ben Wakana, deputy director of communications for the White House’s Covid-19 task force, the number of young Covid-19 patients hospitalized is increasing markedly compared to the early stages of the pandemic. This demonstrates a direct risk from new strains to unvaccinated young people.

Wakana hopes the common concern about the Delta mutation will make many young people in the US change their minds and embrace the vaccination campaign more positively. “If you’re young and think you don’t need the vaccine, the Delta variant is the reason you should get vaccinated,” he stressed.

Trung Nhan (According to the WSJ)