Big Majority of Young Adults Are Pro-COVID Vaccine, Driven to Protect Themselves and Community, BU Study Finds
Boston University researchers also find those with anti-vaccine attitudes are less altruistic, more likely to distrust science and government
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Big Majority of Young Adults Are Pro-COVID Vaccine, Driven to Protect Themselves and Community, BU Study Finds
Boston University researchers also find those with anti-vaccine attitudes are less altruistic, more likely to distrust science and government
Young adults are overwhelmingly in favor of COVID-19 vaccinations, according to a new Boston University study. But while many are motivated to get a shot to protect themselves and their neighbors, a solid minority—distrustful of science and institutions—remain resistant to getting inoculated.
The national study found young adults’ vaccination decisions are a complex “interplay between individual and contextual decisions,” from their personal health to what they’re seeing on social media, says Hyeouk “Chris” Hahm, a BU School of Social Work professor and associate dean for research. Writing about their findings in the journal Vaccine, Hahm and her colleagues said understanding “these patterns can inform more nuanced public health strategies and communication efforts.”
In a moment when leading political figures are questioning the safety and scientifically proven efficacy of vaccines, Hahm says the study contains vital lessons not just for reaching and educating those against or hesitant about COVID shots, but also for restoring faith in science and scientists more generally.
“Our study emphasizes the urgent need to rebuild trust in institutions and science through transparent, credible communication,” says Hahm, the study’s lead author. The research team included faculty and students from BU’s School of Social Work, School of Public Health, and Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences. Hahm hopes that by cultivating a sense of shared responsibility for health, and a better understanding of different groups’ vaccination perspectives, we can take “vital steps toward increasing vaccine uptake and reducing preventable harm.”
Outreach Should Emphasize Health Protections
To dig into vaccination attitudes, the researchers analyzed 1,863 survey responses from participants in the national COVID-19 Adult Resilience Experiences Study (CARES). The respondents, all aged 18–30, were drawn from a range of racial and ethnic backgrounds and were predominantly (71.6 percent) female.
The study found more than three-quarters of young adults were pro-vaccine, primarily motivated to get a shot to protect themselves and their communities, but also reassured by their trust in science and buoyed by a feel-good attitude toward vaccination. In contrast, the 11 percent of participants who were anti-vaccine did not share their peers’ faith in scientists, or the government; they were also less altruistic and more likely to advocate for personal autonomy. A small number of young adults—just 2 percent—were on the fence: the vaccine hesitant who worried about unknown risks or felt paralyzed by the decision.
The results led the researchers to conclude in their paper that “cultivating a sense of shared responsibility for collective well-being is critical.”
One important thing out of the evidence is that we have to keep talking about or emphasizing the health-protective motivation. Deep down, I think, a lot of people do care about their health, they do care about their family, their church members, their neighbors.
“One important thing out of the evidence is that we have to keep talking about or emphasizing the health-protective motivation,” even among those who aren’t all in on vaccines, says Hahm. “Deep down, I think, a lot of people do care about their health, they do care about their family, their church members, their neighbors.”
The Impact of Government Policy on Vaccination Attitudes
The researchers found government policy—including employment or travel-related mandates—was the most prominent outside influence on vaccination decisions, ahead of vaccine availability and others’ opinions.
The study used data from 2022, when the US was still officially in a federal state of emergency over COVID. Since then, US government vaccine policies have shifted markedly. During his tenure as secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has questioned the safety of and cut funding for mRNA vaccines (the science powering most COVID shots), challenged the effectiveness of COVID vaccines, and narrowed vaccine recommendations.
“At the time when our data was collected, if you didn’t take the vaccine, you [often] couldn’t work, you couldn’t be around people—you had no choice,” says Hahm. “Still, more than 200 people were anti-vaccine. In today’s political environment, distrust in scientific authority is increasing.”
She says that may not just cement the views of those in the anti-vax camp, but could also sway those who were hesitant, perhaps even erode support among pro-vaxxers: “You may be pro-vaccine, but depending on government policy, accessibility, other people’s opinions—especially when trust in scientific authority is getting thinner—individuals’ decision-making may be changing.”
In their paper, the researchers end by discussing the importance of “transparent and credible communication about scientific evidence” to “further reduce preventable disabilities and deaths through increasing vaccine uptake.”
That’s something Hahm says scientists like her have a responsibility to take seriously. And it’s not enough to just do studies and publish papers, she says: researchers also have to become better connected to their communities, take the time to have conversations, and talk about their findings in everyday language on social media and beyond. One other important goal, she says, is to help create an environment where researchers and others listen to dissenting voices with respect.
A lot of people have doubts about vaccines, but they don’t want to share their fear, because they think they are going to be criticized. We should hear them out, not judge them. Once you start talking, people can disagree and you can provide them with information.
“A lot of people have doubts about vaccines, but they don’t want to share their fear, because they think they are going to be criticized,” says Hahm. “We should hear them out, not judge them. Once you start talking, people can disagree and you can provide them with information.”
While many have tried to move on from COVID—this winter, just 11 percent of Massachusetts residents got a shot—for Hahm, the study and her push to promote vaccine benefits is personal.
Before a vaccine became widely available in his home country of South Korea, her father was diagnosed with COVID-19. Despite his physical fitness, it hit him hard: he spent months in the intensive care unit in hospital, watching as those in surrounding beds died. When he returned home, it was with an oxygen tank and long COVID. He was dogged by symptoms until his death in early 2025.
“My father suffered,” says Hahm. “I care about COVID for scientific reasons, but it’s also personal to me. I don’t want any deaths like my father’s, especially when the vaccine is available nowadays. When you have evidence, you can persuade people.”
The study was funded by the National Science Foundation.
