Unfounded fears that the coronavirus vaccine causes infertility, a need to question authority and politicization of vaccines are cited as leading reasons for lagging rates of youth vaccination in Ohio and across the country. “It’s frustrating,” said psychologist Juanita Martin, executive director of counseling and accessibility at the University of Akron. “Young people have a sense of, ‘I’m invincible, I’m young, I’m healthy — nothing is going to happen to me.’ The wider implications just don’t resonate with them.” The fast-spreading Delta variant is infecting younger people worldwide. This makes vaccinating this population more important. The national trends also are...
