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The struggle of getting young people vaccinated in Western New York

The group including 16 to 25-year-olds has among the lowest rates of COVID vaccination.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — “I’m kind of nervous about this,” said 20-year-old Aiyana Martin walking into a pop-up COVID vaccination clinic Friday morning.

The clinic at Main and Dodge streets in Buffalo was put together to help address the lagging vaccination rate among the young eligible for a shot: people aged 16 to 25.

Martin admits she’s not fond of needles, but one thing that made her shy away from getting inoculated was her desire to have a family.

With Martin at the clinic was her godmother, Kelly McLean, who explained, “Not right now, but she’s anticipating wanting to have children and have family someday, and I know that that was a concern.” 

Dr. Raul Vazquez, who heads Urban Family Practice, which is operating the clinic, says in conversations he’s had with young adults, fear of infertility is a major reason behind not seeking vaccination. The notion comes from a widely discredited social media post.

“That’s the biggest thing. If you get the COVID infection, you’re likely to get infertility issues in the future. If you get the vaccine, that’s not at all what’s going to happen,” Dr. Vazquez said.

In fact, Johns Hopkins Medical School says flatly, “The COVID-19 vaccine will not affect your fertility.”

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists adds the pregnant women should also have access to the vaccine.

Aside from beating back social media myths, community leaders say encouraging young people to get vaccinated may take a different strategy, in part because their media consuming habits tend to be different.

But one approach endorsed by Buffalo Urban League President Thomas Bufford, Jr. is encouraging young adults who get vaccinated to talk about their experience with other young adults.

“They need to speak up," Bufford said. “This is not a project. It’s a process. We’re going to learn as we go, and we’ll refine it, and we’re still going to keep targeting this important demographic, but we’ll get there.”

    

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