Covid-19: White House announces new incentives to boost youth vaccination rates
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Many of the incentives were announced by second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who spoke with Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy on a press call Thursday about the importance of vaccinating young people.
“Less than half of people age 18-24 have one shot. That’s 42%,” Emhoff said.
“The reality is many younger Americans have felt like Covid is not something that impacts them and they have been resistant to getting the shot,” he added.
Emhoff added that gaming services Twitch and Riot will run ads on their platforms and work with influencers to reach young Americans with public health information.
“These platforms touch millions of young Americans every day, and we know that hearing about vaccinations from someone you follow or someone you trust or the mental health app that you use may be just as important as it is hearing it from us at the White House,” Emhoff said.
Vaccine coverage among young adults has been lower and is increasing more slowly over time than in other age groups in the United States, and the intent to be vaccinated is lower among younger adults, according to studies published Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If the weekly pace of vaccinations continues at the same rate from the week of May 22, only 57.5% of adults under age 30 will have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of August.
Earlier this week, White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said the administration is now focused on getting younger Americans, particularly 18- to 26-year-olds, vaccinated against the virus. He said the White House would be working with state and local leaders on outreach efforts.
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