Young Americans are shunning friends, family who have not gotten COVID vaccine: poll
Thomas McDonald
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At least 30% of Millennials or Gen Zers in the United States say they have cut ties with a friend or family member because they haven’t gotten the COVID-19 vaccine.
“It’s the new cultural dividing line,” said John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll.
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The poll shows that 33% of millennials say they have cuts ties with somebody in their life over not getting vaccinated against COVID-19, compared with 30% of Gen Zers, 9% of Gen Xers and 7% of baby boomers.
Baby boomers are those born between 1946 and 1960, Gen X are those born between 1961 and 1979, Millennials are people born between the years 1980 and 1994 and Gen Z is considered those born between 1995 and 2010.
“Three in 10 Gen Zers, and even more millennials, have ghosted friends who would not get vaccinated,” Gerzema said.
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The poll found that of all generational age groups, millennials are the ones most likely to have children who are unvaccinated. Some parents fear that getting their children the vaccine could be potentially harmful to their health, as none of the COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. are approved by the FDA for children under the age of 12.
Another factor in the generational divide is that older Americans are more likely to be vaccinated than any other age group. Older Americans may know fewer unvaccinated people as 90.1% of Americans 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with 59.7% of the overall U.S. population, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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The poll also found that only 15% of Americans said they expect a party host to require vaccinations. Two-thirds said they would require attendees to be vaccinated if they were to host a party or event. While 37% would require vaccination regardless of party size.