Reopening to the world: how safety, normality and trust in government shape young adults’ COVID-19 vaccine intentions

During the COVID-19 pandemic, and particularly 2020-2021, young adults were often significant transmitters of the virus. Prior to the availability of vaccines for young adults, we sought to understand what would contribute to their uptake of a COVID-19 vaccine and how government policy might intervene. We undertook qualitative interviews between February and April 2021 with 19 participants (aged 18-29) in Perth, Western Australia.

Citation:
Roberts L, McKenzie L, Carlson SJ, Tomkinson S, Attwell K. Reopening to the world: how safety, normality and trust in government shape young adults’ COVID-19 vaccine intentions. Aust J Polit Sci. 2022:1-19.

Keywords:
COVID-19; vaccine; adult; government; trust; normality; safety

Abstract:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, and particularly 2020-2021, young adults were often significant transmitters of the virus. Prior to the availability of vaccines for young adults, we sought to understand what would contribute to their uptake of a COVID-19 vaccine and how government policy might intervene. We undertook qualitative interviews between February and April 2021 with 19 participants (aged 18-29) in Perth, Western Australia.