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SANTA FE – New Mexico’s robust vaccination rate – one of the strongest in the country – has a flaw.
Young adults are far less likely than older New Mexicans to complete their vaccine series, an ongoing challenge as the state seeks to mitigate further spikes in COVID-19 infections.
Only 45.1% of 18- to 24-year-olds in the state are fully vaccinated for the disease, which is more than 20 points behind the overall adult population, according to the state Department of Health.
New Mexico young adults also lag behind the national average of 48.3% for their age group.
Greg Romero, president of the University of New Mexico’s Associated Students, said he was given the chance once he was eligible this year. But some of his colleagues, he said, put it off and planned to eventually get the vaccine, but weren’t motivated to act quickly.
“You just don’t see an urgent need to get it right now,” said Romero, “although it is urgent.”
A scientific survey by the University of New Mexico Center for Social Policy found that younger adults – between the ages of 18 and 29 – are less likely to say they know how to get the vaccine in their community.
Adults aged 20 or younger also expressed concern about rare blood clots – a phenomenon that temporarily halted distribution of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine this year – and they are more likely than elderly residents to be concerned about its possible impact on their ability to have children, the survey says.
There is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility, according to the state Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal scientific advisors also found that the benefits of the Johnson & Johnson shot outweigh the risks and that anyone concerned about side effects can opt for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead.
But some young adults are not convinced.
In a Journal interview, Rose, a 23-year-old Silver City woman, said she would like more information before deciding whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Blood clots and fertility, she said, were topics of discussion among her friends and others her age.
“I’m not against getting it in the future,” said Rose on Friday, “but I think there needs to be more research and they need to be more open about side effects.”
Rose said she was not an “opponent” and had received other vaccines. However, she said she wanted to make her own decision about the COVID-19 vaccine and not face a mandate.
Rose works in dentistry and her employer doesn’t ask her to have a vaccine.
“Fake things on the Internet”
Dr. Jason Mitchell, chief medical officer at Presbyterian Healthcare Services, the state’s largest healthcare system, said getting vaccinated is vital for young adults.
They are more likely to have multiple jobs, go to school, and come into contact with larger groups of people. So vaccination is a way for young adults to protect the community around them, Mitchell said, not just themselves.
But young New Mexicans are also confronted with risks to their own health. On a given day, he said, five to ten people aged 20 or younger will be hospitalized with the disease.
“Young people get really sick from COVID,” said Mitchell, “and can die from COVID.”
Fears about fertility are simply not justified.
In a statement last month, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other medical associations urged pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID-19, stating that the vaccines had “no effect on fertility”.
The fertility concerns, Mitchell said, “have been completely exposed. There is absolutely, scientifically no impact on fertility. That wasn’t real. That was fake stuff on the internet. “
18-24 cohort trails others
Adults over 65 are most likely to receive the vaccine in New Mexico. An estimated 77.1% of adults in old age have completed their vaccination series, 32 points more than 18- to 24-year-olds.
With one exception, vaccination rates tend to increase with age.
UNM students returned to the main campus at full capacity on Monday morning. However, by September all students must present a vaccination card.
(Roberto E. Rosales / .)
Adolescents aged 16 or 17 have a slightly higher vaccination rate than their older peers. An estimated 49.7% of people between the ages of 16 and 17 are fully vaccinated, almost 5 percentage points more than adults between 18 and 24 years of age.
By and large, New Mexico’s vaccination rates – with the exception of the 18- to 24-year-old cohort – surpass those of the nation as a whole.
New Mexico ranks fifth in the state for vaccine doses given per person in adults, according to CDC data.
The nationwide vaccination rate is 68.1% for residents 18 years of age or older, or 4 points higher than the nationwide rate.
Older adults were among the first to receive the vaccine as part of New Mexico’s Gradual Vaccine Distribution Plan.
Vaccine hesitate
The UNM Center for Social Policy this year surveyed more than 2,000 adults in New Mexico to assess attitudes towards vaccination.
Only 48% of New Mexicans 18 to 29 years old said they knew how to get the vaccine in their community, less than other age groups. They also had more frequent arguments with family and close friends about the vaccine and had greater fertility concerns.
“The survey shows that this group’s reluctance to vaccinate is driven by a combination of ideological and information barriers,” the UNM report said. “Given the greater hesitation, targeted contact with this specific sub-group of the larger population will be necessary.”
The study found that cash incentives were more likely to attract younger adults than other age groups.
Her most trusted messengers of vaccine information, according to the UNM report, were her doctors, close friends and family who were vaccinated, and civil rights groups in her community.
Among the messages that seemed to resonate with young people were assurances that their vaccination decision would remain private; that nurses, doctors, and other providers believe the vaccine is safe and effective; and this vaccination would allow them to visit elderly relatives who are more susceptible.
The report was written by Gabriel Sanchez, Director of the UNM’s Center for Social Policy, and Melanie Sayuri Dominguez, Betzaira Mayorga-Calleros and Shannon Sanchez-Youngman, all of the UNM.
David Morgan, a spokesman for the state health department, said New Mexico’s $ 100 vaccine incentive – a program that ended in August – appears to be successful in promoting vaccinations among younger adults.
“Vaccination will remain key as they are most likely to move independently in public unmasked and unvaccinated,” Morgan said in a written statement. “Being young is not the same as being immortal, and with hospitals across the country seeing more unvaccinated young people in their intensive care units, it should be a sign that vaccination, distancing and masking are as safe for their long-term health as it is for everyone others.”
Presbyterian doctor Mitchell said vaccination was the only way out of the pandemic. He encouraged young adults – or anyone else – to speak to their doctor or health care provider.
“You need to consider which source is the right one for the question you are asking,” said Mitchell. “When it comes to health care, it will be your health care provider.”
For Romero, who is 21 years old and is studying humanities at UNM, he said he was motivated by a desire to visit friends and relatives – especially older family members – without fear of the disease spreading.
“I didn’t mean to endanger her,” he said.
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