Banin Hassan says there is only one reason why she would consider getting another COVID-19 vaccine to increase her first two doses.
“If they make it mandatory and limit activities or travel in my life again, I would think so because I love to travel,” said the 27-year-old Hamilton-based consultant.
“Besides, there’s nothing that would change my mind.”
Canadian government data show that young adults are lagging behind other age groups in promotion. About 35% of people between the ages of 18 and 29 received a third dose. This reaches 42% for 30- to 39-year-olds. An average of 72% of Canadians aged 40 and over have received theirs.
A Calgary-based doctor who has studied vaccine fluctuations says he is not surprised that young adults are lagging behind.
“Even before the booster, with the second and first dose, we saw much lower absorption in the 25 (group) compared to the 65-plus community,” said Dr. Jia Hu, who leads a group that advises how to increase absorption.
Hu is the CEO of 19 to Zero, made up of doctors, nurses, economists and other experts who aim to help Canadian governments, companies and communities build trust in vaccines.
“One thing that has allowed us to achieve higher levels of vaccine absorption in the range of 30 is the vaccine mandates, because I don’t think there is any hesitation in this population (about the vaccines themselves),” Hu said. “In this age group, people are less concerned that COVID is causing a serious illness. The mandates allow them to live again. “
Hassan’s partner, 28-year-old Humam Yahya, acknowledged the benefits of vaccines in reducing serious diseases, but questioned the need to continue vaccinations.
“You just get a booster every eight months or 10 months and there’s no end date for it,” he says. “You’re just taking these vaccinations … and I’m sure they have great benefits, but we also don’t know the long-term side effects.”
All claims that COVID-19 vaccines may have long-term side effects “are completely untrue and have not been supported by most studies in other countries. [non-COVID] vaccines too, “said Tara Moriarty, an infectious disease expert and researcher at the University of Toronto, in an interview with CBC Radio’s White Coat, Black Art.
Yahya says he was initially afraid of getting COVID-19 because he had asthma.
“I took refuge a lot. But then a lot of friends who still got COVID, their side effects, and what I got was not nearly what I thought it would be, so I lost a lot of fear there.
The Hamilton woman says COVID-19 is not a high risk for her at the moment
Hassan added that some distant family members had died at the start of the pandemic. Most recently, she observed close family members and friends who had COVID-19 but with mild symptoms.
“My father has kidney failure and is on his fourth dose. I fully understand that he has to do this because his health is a little more endangered. I would even encourage him to keep receiving it. For me, I do not find COVID a high risk at the moment, “said Hassan.
She and Yahya say some friends, especially women, have had bad reactions to the vaccine, so the couple is wary of overdoses.
Lisa Samadi, 25, a Hamilton pharmacy assistant, says she did not go for a booster because it is not mandatory.
“I was really lazy,” she says with a laugh.
“I just kept procrastinating, but then I finally got COVID (in January), so I said to myself, ‘Okay, I guess I’m pretty charged for now, so I don’t need to get it.’
Samadi says her whole family had COVID-19, so they are in no hurry to get stronger, but they would do a third injection if it became mandatory.
Hu says “strongly, strongly” recommends that all Canadians be boosted, because the two-dose protection decreases after about six months “and the booster returns immediately.”
He says that while booster uptake in young adults is too low, he does not believe that 18- to 29-year-olds with COVID-19 will overwhelm hospitals.
But he added, “Do I think some 25-year-olds can still be hospitalized and die?”
“Yes.”
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