Why are vaccination rates lagging among Quebec’s young adults?
Posted July 13, 2021 7:36 pm.
Last Updated July 13, 2021 7:37 pm.
MONTREAL (CityNews) — A virology specialist believes there are a few reasons to explain the lower vaccination rate of Quebec’s young adults — a demographic that health officials say is lagging behind others.
The province believes young adults are a key age group in getting Quebec to achieve its overall vaccination goal. But while there has been a recent uptick in new vaccine doses for those between 20 and 29 years old, the demographic is still behind others.
Only 68.2 per cent of them have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 18.6 per cent have received both doses. In contrast, more than 82 per cent of Quebecers 12 and older have been inoculated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 41.6 per cent have received both shots.
Virologist and UQAM professor Benoit Barbeau says there is a slight feeling of invulnerability among the province’s youth, which may be contributing to those numbers.
“They might feel that being less subject to severe symptoms and seeing that the numbers right now in the pandemic during the summer season is showing good signs, the tendency goes in the right direction, they might not feel that they need to be vaccinated,” he said.
Barbeau also believes an onslaught of medical information over the past few months can be confusing for some.
“If you have all this information coming in and you’re trying to make some sense out of this, it might become overwhelming and difficult to grasp exactly what is out there and why vaccination is so important,” he said.
Those aged 20 to 29 in Quebec are now seeing an increase of approximately 17 COVID-19 cases a day in their age group. They represent 15 per cent of the province’s total confirmed cases.
“It’s an age group that moves around society a lot, they go in bars, they go in parks, in stores, that work, that are in schools,” said public health specialist Dr. Maryse Guay. “It’s also youths that are in contact with younger individuals but also older individuals, so they can transmit the virus, and transmit it to those who are most vulnerable.”
Si vous vous reconnaissez dans les 90k personnes âgées entre 18 et 34 ans non-vaccinées, il est encore temps d’aller chercher votre première dose pr que vous soyez adéquatement vacciné avant le 31 août.
Les équipes sont prêtes. On continue de viser 75% dans chaque groupe d’âge. https://t.co/iFwyskc8YR
— Christian Dubé (@cdube_sante) July 13, 2021
Health Minister Christian Dube tweeted Tuesday that the provincial government is still aiming to reach 75 per cent vaccination rate in all age groups before the fall.
Getting the vaccine was a fairly easy decision for 21-year-old student Jamie Fabian, who already has both doses.
“I don’t want to get COVID,” said Fabian. “I trusted the science on why both vaccines were safe and I have family members who are immunocompromised, so I thought that was important as well.
“You look at clubs, you look at bars, we’re a very large demographic going there, so you have a lot of close contact, you have more close physical relationships, more partners, things like that. So you’re seeing more people on a day-to-day basis, so the potential for infection is more.”
Quebec announced that proof of COVID-19 vaccination could be mandatory as of Sept. 1 for all non-essential activities if cases start to increase. That has seemingly encouraged many to go get their shots.
The vaccination rate among youths in their twenties has increased by five per cent since last week, going from 500 to 1,200 per day according to the health ministry.
“That hesitancy is going to shoot a lot down when people say, ‘well there’s a risk but I also want to live my life and if that’s what it takes to do it, then this is what I’m going to do,’ said Fabian.
“I’ve seen other administrations do it like in the U.S. and Israel and giving free food, pizza, those kinds of things. I think it would make a big difference.”
The province’s plan is also to find ways of bringing vaccines to young people, instead of the other way around. People will be able to get vaccinated at Montreal’s Piknik Electronik music festival, for instance.
“We have to go everywhere where they are, we have to continue informing them,” said Guay. “When fall will come, I think that’s when there will be some restrictions for non-vaccinated young adults, they will be faced with a tough situation.”
Added Fabian: “It has to do a lot with convenience and honestly laziness and also lack of motivation. I was talking to a few friends of mine, and one of them, he got vaccinated but he waited a little bit, he didn’t really know the process.”
