‘WHAT’S MY RUSH’
Some younger Connecticut residents want to wait to get vaccine
“I’m young, I’m in good health and have no preexisting conditions that’d have an effect when I get COVID.”
Chris Myles a 25-year-old Norwalk resident
When the clock strikes midnight on May 3, Connecticut residents between ages 16 and 34 years old will be eligible for the coronavirus vaccine. The last eligible group in Connecticut’s rollout plan, some young folks will wait by the computer to sign up for an appointment. Others will not.
But it’s not from an unwillingness to get the vaccine. Ever since Gov. Ned Lamont rolled out his new vaccination plan which sidelined those who are essential workers or have preexisting conditions , some young people who feel they’re low risk have considered waiting to sign up for a shot until others have gotten theirs.
“As a 28-year-old male with no underlying health issues, I would gladly wait to get vaccinated to ensure that the more vulnerable populations have access first, whether that be the 50+ age group or pop
ulations affected by chronic illness,” said Mike Finley, of Middletown. “The state needs to not only prioritize certain age groups but also ensure that those living with chronic illnesses, regardless of age, be treated in the same manner.”
Steve DeRosa, a 30-yearold Greenwich native now living in Mystic, said he started to think twice about getting the vaccine as soon as he’s eligible after reading about a woman with Down syndrome who would have to wait to get the vaccine now due to her age, despite her risk for complications.
“That got me thinking, what do I need it so quickly for?” DeRosa said. “I’m not concerned about it. If I can wait a couple of weeks and let those people move to the front of the line, why wouldn’t I do that?”
DeRosa, who works as a sales manager for Red Bull, is willing to get the vaccine eventually and does not begrudge the state for their rollout plan.
“It’s nothing to be taken lightly,” he said. “It’s not a hoax. I just thought, what’s my rush? I know a lot of people who had it and half weren’t phased and half had a rough day or two and were fine. If there’s someone my age who could get it and potentially die, please go before me.”
Despite the upcoming rollbacks on capacity limits for businesses like restaurants, some young people have said they’re comfortable holding back a little while longer on going out.
Chris Myles, 25, has been working from his studio apartment in Norwalk as a network engineer since last February. With no plans to return to the office in sight, he’s able to stay at home, only going out to Walmart for supplies every two weeks. And he’s willing to do this for a little while longer.
“I’m young, I’m in good health and have no preexisting conditions that’d have an effect when I get COVID,” Myles said. “I don’t go anywhere since I started working from home . ... I have the least amount of exposure you can get, basically. I have no reason to jump to the front of the line once our age bracket opens up. Other people need it more than me so I’m going to wait. I do plan on getting it eventually.”
But medical experts say it’s crucial for young adults to get the vaccine, especially after Lamont announced the rollback of certain coronavirus restrictions. Jill Goldberg, a pediatric nurse practitioner and clinical director of pediatrics at Norwalk Community Health Center, said the new rollback could lead to a spike in coronavirus cases.
“With the governor saying he wants to open up things, I think it’s a little premature,” she said. “We need to get more people vaccinated before he opens everything up.”
Meanwhile, young people who are essential workers or have preexisting conditions are grateful for others who might wait so they can get their appointments sooner.
Aryanna Edwards, 26, of New Milford, had to leave her manufacturing job because she has severe asthma and was concerned about her chances of getting COVID. Edwards won’t go back to work until she can get vaccinated, but knows it’ll take time.
“I do appreciate the people who are willing to give up their spots to those who need it more,” she said. “I just wish they didn’t have to do that. Ultimately, the more people who are vaccinated, the safer everyone will be.”
Eric King, a 27-year-old East Haven resident who works in the restaurant industry, said it seemed “logical” that essential workers like himself be vaccinated next, given how many people he’s exposed to during a day, including customers who try to come in without masks on.
He said he was “furious” when he found out he’ll have to wait.
“I think that if people in my age bracket want to hold out and wait so essential workers and others with health conditions can get the vaccine first, that’s very noble and kind of them,” he said. “The governor should have thought the same way. I feel that there’s such an overwhelming number of people trying to get appointments that even when we become eligible in May that it may take a month or more to get a date to have the vaccine.”
Karen Jubanyik, Yale Medicine Emergency Medicine physician and coauthor of “Beat the Coronavirus: Strategies for Staying Safe and Coping With the New Normal During the COVID-19,” said when Yale began offering vaccines to medical students, many also said they wanted to wait until older people received their shots. However, given the likelihood of young people transmitting the virus, she recommends those eligible in May register within a few weeks, otherwise the virus will have more chances to mutate and spread.
“Hang back a week or two,” she said “After that week or two, everyone needs to do their civic duty and get vaccinated unless they have a conv (ersation) with their doctor (who advises against it),” she said. “It’s really your civic duty so we can get herd immunity. We don’t know what that looks like yet ... but we certainly don’t want to get herd immunity by everyone having the illness.”
Jubanyik said for diseases like measles, up to 95 percent of people need to be immune in order to reach herd immunity.
“We don’t know what the numbers are going to turn out to be for COVID, but we desperately want the young people to get vaccinated because they’re going to be part of the key to keeping everybody safe,” she added.
As a whole, young people are less likely to get the coronavirus vaccine. According to a December 2020 Pew Research study, three-quarters of adults 65 and older said they would definitely or probably get vaccinated, compared with 55 percent of adults under the age of 30.
Furthermore, Dr. Paul Nee, infectious disease specialist at Nuvance Health, pointed out the vaccine can prevent severe disease and hospitalization which, while rare, can happen in young people. It can also help prevent some of the long-term consequences of the coronavirus.
“A lot of people have said to me, ‘I’m not getting the vaccine because I don’t have risk factors, I’m not getting the vaccine because I’m healthy,’ ... but we could get it and spread it to other people who may not be as lucky,” Nee said. “That’s an important aspect to realize.”