Disease investigator is concerned about student opinions on COVID-19 vaccine

Although COVID-19 vaccine doses will be available to all Utahns over the age of 16 this month, some Utah State University students who have already had COVID-19 say they're in no rush — an attitude that has health officials worried.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised everyone to be vaccinated, even if they already had COVID, as studies have yet to establish how long post-COVID immunity persists after infection. But that message either isn't getting through to students — or it is being ignored.

“Right now, I don’t need it,” USU student Canyon Prusso said. “I know that if I get it again that I will survive it, because I’ve already had it.”

Prusso tested positive for COVID-19 in September 2020 and does not see the point of receiving the vaccine due to what he perceives as a low risk to younger people.

Jason Wiggins said he doesn't care "if someone wants to stick a needle in me" but he also expressed indifference, noting that he has had COVID already. "There are definitely college kids that just don't care," he said.

Even students who are concerned about helping to build herd immunity aren't in a hurry.

“There’s a lot more than you would expect that aren't getting it," said Lucas Martin, who has also already had COVID, "just because they don’t want to take it from somebody else who needs it right now."

Tami Jones, a disease investigator at the Bear River Health Department, said the idea that a vaccine is unnecessary for people who have already had COVID is a common misconception. While Jones recommends people avoid getting the vaccine for 90 days after the onset of symptoms, she said students should get the shot.

“Even if you have had it as a college student in October, there is a chance you can catch it again now,” she said.

Jones and her colleagues have been administering the vaccine since its release in December and have emphasized the importance of young adults getting vaccinated.

A study published in the journal Science in February reaffirmed that while younger adults are broadly spared from severe illness and death, they are also the key spreaders of the virus. The international team of researchers responsible for the study found that two-thirds of COVID-19 infections in the United States have originated from individuals aged 20 to 49.