The Pandemic Generation Is Skipping Its Shots

My generation, Gen Z, has been called the “pandemic generation.” And yet, recent research shows that Generation Z is the least vaccinated of all generations. Why?

When I first saw the numbers, I was shocked. Like so many kids, I completed second and third grade from my bedroom and didn’t see anyone outside my family for months. Many of us came of age in isolation, learning remotely and reaching milestones over Zoom. One would think that this formative experience would inspire widespread cooperation with vaccine mandates. And yet a 2020 survey run by the Pharmacy Times found that only 36% of Gen Z planned to get the COVID-19 vaccine compared to 52% of Baby Boomers and 58% of the Silent Generation. Millennials and Gen-X also showed high levels of distrust in vaccines, but their vaccination rates are higher than Gen Z’s overall.

I’ve noticed this change in my friends firsthand. The first time vaccine misinformation caught my attention was during a discussion with a classmate. We got on to the subject of how their parents did not believe in vaccines. This discussion was interesting, especially after living through COVID. I’d always been taught that vaccines are safe and effective, that getting vaccines not only protects us but the people around us. After our discussion, I decided to do a little research into where vaccine misinformation stems from.

There are many reasons for vaccine hesitancy across the American population. Four main categories of “vaccine hesitancy”: religious, philosophical, safety concerns, and desire for more information. But for Gen Z, the reason is typically distrust. Where was this distrust coming from?

The first and most obvious perpetrator of Gen Z’s vaccine hesitancy is social media. For the first time in human history, everyone with a phone has the ability to share their opinions, whether on public health guidelines, vaccine safety, or the existence of the virus itself. This low barrier to entry has allowed conflicting information to spread. Real science now seems less credible to users who lack the media literacy to determine fact from fiction. Gen Z has been swimming in these murky waters our whole lives.

It’s true that older individuals are more vulnerable to disease, resulting in a higher vaccination rate. Research shows that it is also related to which life-shaping events defined a generation, including access to new technology. Even though Gen Z is the generation with the most access to scientific information, as the first cohort to grow up completely immersed in social media and handheld technology, they are also the most susceptible to algorithms designed to allow misinformation to spread.

According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the bulk of health fabrications can be traced back to just twelve accounts, dubbed the Disinformation Dozen. NPR reported in 2021 that just twelve accounts produce “65% of the shares of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms.” These individuals range from anti-vaccine activists and holistic doctors to alternative health influencers and entrepreneurs. US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is among them, which illustrates how vaccine misinformation often comes from the very top in government.

This vaccination pattern is not just limited to the COVID-19 vaccine. According to a Tebra study published in January of this year, Gen Z was also the least likely generation to have

consistently gotten a flu shot over the past 5 seasons, with only 18% saying they’d been vaccinated.

The spread of misinformation on social media has real-world consequences. When enough people skip vaccines, diseases that were once eradicated will return. One example currently plaguing the US is the measles outbreak. In 2000, measles was considered eradicated from the United States. Now, without a sufficient number of administered MMR vaccines (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella), herd immunity is starting to waver.

Herd Immunity is the idea that vaccinating a large enough portion of the population yields a safer environment for all, as there aren’t enough people for a disease to infect. These aren’t diseases with minor symptoms, either. Measles can cause pneumonia, bronchitis, and permanent hearing loss, especially in young children.

What made this situation even worse was the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ recent decision to remove all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the CDC’s vaccine advisory board responsible for issuing guidelines and safety recommendations for the entire country. It’s ACIP’s responsibility to recommend which vaccines should be required for schools. Firing the world’s leading vaccine experts ruins public trust, which puts everyone in danger.

Vaccination is not just about personal protection, but about protecting a community. It benefits people who can’t get vaccinated for medical reasons, like infants and people with weakened immune systems. If health programming is not adjusted to meet generational needs, then social media and the erosion of trust and truth that platforms spread will have real repercussions on our public health.

My generation did not grow up distrusting vaccines. But we did grow up in an environment that made distrusting authority easy. With constant access to social media, a pandemic that bred political and scientific dissent, and now the systematic dismantling of our government’s health institutions, it’s no wonder Gen Z is distrustful and divided.

Removing all 17 members of the ACIP wasn’t a neutral decision. Cutting funding for public health programs and mRNA vaccine research sends a dangerous message: that health science is up for debate. When those responsible for public health start deprioritizing experts, it encourages the public to do the same. This isn’t a problem just for Americans, either. When the

U.S. FDA sets the example worldwide, its lack of credibility puts everyone at risk. If vaccine misinformation is going to be addressed on a global scale, we’ll need more than government directives to rebuild trust. Because in this digital day and age, misinformation is a matter of life and death.

Nikhil Jain is a freshman at Saddle River Day School in Saddle River, New Jersey. He is interested in epidemiology and vaccine development, and he enjoys debate, piano, and Tae Kwon Do.